'Bribery': Dáil hears of developer asked to pay €500k to have planning appeal withdrawn

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien and Labour leader Ivana Bacik were responding to revelations in the 'RTÉ Investigates' probe

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien told the Dáil: 'It is effectively a form of bribery — there is no question about that — and that needs to be called out every time it is done.' Picture: PA

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien has condemned "bribery" in our planning system and is now open to creating new standalone criminal offences to tackle the issue.

The Dáil has heard of a "concerning" case where a developer was asked to pay more than €500,000 in order to have a planning permission appeal withdrawn.