The trade union Impact has strongly criticised the decision by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan to fill all four vacancies that have arisen in recent months on the board of An Bord Pleanála.
The union said the cost of remuneration packages and enhanced pension arrangements for the four board members who had left would effectively be equivalent to the amount saved in the organisation under the Croke Park agreement.
In a letter to Mr Hogan last week, Impact’s national secretary Matt Staunton said: “I understand that staff numbers in the board increased substantially in the 2000s to meet planning activity at that time.
“Staffing has been reduced in recent years. Remuneration, which was previously effectively set by one of your predecessors, has also been reduced.
“I understand that four board member positions became vacant in 2011. Whilst the staff fully expected that some of these would be filled, they were shocked to hear that all the vacant positions were being filled at the current time.”
