The Irish Planning Institute has welcomed the publication of details of a Review of An Bord Pleanála by the Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly. Irish Planning Institute (IPI) president Mary Hughes is a member of the review group.

Discussing the review IPI vice-president Brendan Allen said “We welcome the proposed review of An Bord Pleanála. It conducts a number of important roles in an increasingly complex area and will play a key role in our future environmental and economic development, especially given the required investment in infrastructure and housing in the coming years. It is important that the Board remains independent and that the integrity of the Board and its professional planning staff – for which it is highly regarded – is not compromised.”

Allen concluded “We have some concerns that the proposed six month timeline is very tight given the breadth of An Bord Pleanála’s work and its future roles which also mean the Board must be properly resourced. It is part of wider changes in planning and its interaction with the proposed Office of Planning Regulation must be considered. The Board should not become a body setting planning policy. Instead its decisions should be framed in the context of explicit, clearly articulated plan led policies.”