An Coimisiún Pleanála was quietly ushered into existence last week. The Minster for Housing, James Browne, formally established the body which has taken of the role of An Bord Pleanála, the previous appeals body for planning applications. It had lost the confidence of the public and the previous government amidst serious governance failures and lengthy planning delays.
The establishment of the new commission comes as a worrying sense of drift envelopes this Government’s efforts to address the seemingly intractable shortage of housing.
The lengthy gestation of the new body is in itself evidence of a seeming lack of urgency. The Planning and Development Bill which created it was was first brought before the Dáil in November 2023, but was only passed by the Oireachtas last October. That was an inexcusably long time, even allowing for committee debate. It took another six months for the minster to commence the section relating to the planning commission. Many other measures remain to be commenced.
The costs of such delay are clear for all to see. The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office - published last Friday - show that residential construction activity is falling.
Paul Reid, a former head of both Fingal County Council and the Health Service Executive has been appointed chairman of the governing body of the new commission.
He would seem well qualified to meet the challenges of leading the new body. The biggest is restoring public, political and industry confidence in the speed and clarity of the planning process which rightly carries much of the blame for the housing shortage. The new statutory targets that have now been set for decisions on planning cases including critical infrastructure projects for transport, water, grid and energy as well large-scale residential developments , need to be met.
For that to happen the new body will have to get the resources it needs when it needs them. If it doesn’t, then the new commission risks being seen as little more than old wine in a new bottle.
