Parts of An Bord Pleanála report may be redacted if published, says O'Brien

Darragh O’Brien said that he did not want to prejudice any future investigation, but that he wanted the report to be published.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has acknowledged the possibility that parts of a report he has commissioned into An Bord Pleanála may have to be redacted when it is published because of the possibility of legal action.

Mr O’Brien said that he did not want to prejudice any future investigation, but that he wanted the report to be published.

The Minister has referred to prosecutors a report by senior counsel Remy Farrell investigating conflict of interest claims against the former deputy chairman of the planning body Paul Hyde.

Mr Hyde stepped back from his duties at An Bord Pleanála “without prejudice” on May 9, only to resign from the board entirely on July 8. He has always denied any impropriety on his part.

Mr O'Brien said a separate planning board review will examine “further allegations” of wrongdoing.

Mr O’Brien told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny show he wants to publish the Farrell report, but he must get advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Catherine Pierse.

The Minister also spoke on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show where he said he believed the report was very important, but that there would be two further investigations into the planning body — one internal and the other external.

The internal report will be completed by a senior management team while the external report will involve the Planning Regulator and two experts from outside the jurisdiction.

Mr O’Brien said he expected that expert report within six weeks on the decision-making and record-keeping processes at An Bord Pleanála.

The Housing Minister also said appointments to the planning appeals body will be “effectively” halted, saying: “The current appointment process of members to An Bord Pleanála needs to change and it will change.” 

When asked if appointments would be halted while the system is reformed, he said: “Effectively, yes, in the main they will be.

“There’s one post that we will advertise publicly. It will run through a different process which is an important one around the marine planning function, particularly for offshore renewable energy.

“We will proceed with that but I will do it by way of public advertisement and we’ll do that by the end of the month.”

In the meantime, there would be a new function in relation to offshore renewables and marine planning and he wished to proceed with an advertisement for the position.

Public perception of ABP in danger of being damaged

Meanwhile, the former president of the Irish Planning Institute, Dr Conor Norton warned that the public perception of An Bord Pleanála is in danger of being damaged.

Dr Norton told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that there was a perception that the planning system “may not be as robust” as people imagined and that that confidence was “ebbing” in An Bord Pleanála.

“The system needs to be reviewed.” Such a recommendation had been made in 2016, he said, including a further recommendation that legal advice be included on governance issues on a regular basis.

“These things will help. Now there is an opportunity to go a bit further — to look at the vision and the mission of the Board.” 

Dr Norton added that it was “timely” to look at the roles that An Bord Pleanála had been required to undertake in recent years.

The Housing Minister said there was a need to ensure that there was public confidence in the planning body and that any damage caused was reversed.

“The process going into the future needs to be more robust and more transparent.” Where changes need to be made, they will be made, he added.

Cian O’Callaghan, the Social Democrats' housing spokesperson, said that he was “surprised” that it had taken Mr O’Brien so long to act on issues at An Bord Pleanála.

“I find it actually quite surprised it has taken him this long to recognise that there's issues that have to be addressed at An Bord Pleanála. He was very vocal when he was in opposition in 2018 to a lack of staffing resources at An Bord Pleanála. Yet, he's been the Minister for Housing for more than two years and failed to act on that.

“And as Minister, he has been sitting on the 2016 report and then just yesterday evening made reference to some of the recommendations in terms of implementing them but hasn't given any explanation as to why he sat on that report, what he's doing with the rest of the recommendations.

“So shouldn't take matters getting to this, this very serious situation, and for him to be acting and to ensure that An Bord Pleanála has proper staffing and procedures.”