Just 28% of all planning cases considered by Bord Pleanála during 2023 were decided within expected time frame

Just 28 per cent of all planning cases considered by An Bord Pleanála during 2023 were decided within the expected time frames set out in legislation, the organisation’s latest annual report discloses. The figure is down from 45 per cent the previous year and 73 per cent in 2020.
Increased funding and staff numbers last year helped the organisation deal with substantially more cases overall, the report says
While the total number of planning cases received increased by 7 per cent from 3,059 to 3,272 during the 12 month period to the end of December, the number dealt with was up 55 per cent, from 2,115 to 3,284. The organisation’s backlog of cases was fractionally down at 2,564.
The average amount of time taken to dispose of a case was 42 weeks. This is longer than its target turnaround times, known as statutory objective periods (SOP). The SOP is most commonly 18 weeks but can be four months in particular types of cases.
The board’s chairman, Peter Mullan, welcomed the increased resources available to the board in 2023 – with Government funding up from €21.5m to €30.1m – but acknowledged further progress was required after what had been a turbulent period.
“As we focus on repair and renewal within the organisation,” he said, “the 39 per cent increase in the Oireachtas grant in 2023 is most welcome. Alongside significant staff recruitment, the board has strengthened key elements of our corporate governance and decision-making framework. As we continue to engage robustly with the backlog in planning files, I fully recognise there is much more to do during 2024 to deliver planning decisions in a reasonable and reliable time frame.”
He said 254 staff had been working at the organisation at the end of last year but recruitment had been ongoing since and the number would exceed 300 when the process was complete, 50 per cent more than in 2021.
The cost of legal cases the board was involved in over the course of the year, including contributions made to the costs of the other side in cases that were lost or conceded, increased from €9.7 million to €10.8 million. Mr Mullan said a particular effort would be made to reduce these in future.
The board will continue to defend its decisions when they are challenged in the courts, the report states, although it acknowledged that in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in Heather Hill Management Company CLG and McGoldrick v An Bord Pleanála, Burkeway Homes Limited and the Attorney General, it will not recoup its costs in cases “where there are environmental grounds, which is in most cases”.