Bord Pleanála: Public servants sought as State redoubles efforts to fill board roles

Public servants have been given until next week to put their names forward for a handful of temporary positions on the board of An Bord Pleanála as the Government redoubles its effort to find suitable candidates.

A senior Coalition source said that a “trawl” of departments is ongoing, and that a number of secretaries general in different departments have now been asked to help release suitable people.

The move to arrange emergency appointments to the board of An Bord Pleanála was made in a bid to overcome turmoil in the planning system and amid anxiety about the growing backlog of planning cases

There was already one board vacancy before deputy chairman Paul Hyde resigned in July, and the terms of two other members ended in September, leaving the board with only five ordinary members instead of the usual nine.

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Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien had been hoping to stack the board with public servants on a temporary basis. A source said the secretary general of the Department of Housing asked his counterparts across government to assist with releasing public servants so that they could apply for the roles.

The Public Appointments Service is understood to be managing the process in the same way as other secondments. Government sources said the closing date for applications is November 1st, and that they will only then know how many public servants have put themselves forward.

There has been some concern about the level of interest for the positions given they will only be one year temporary contracts and given the level of turmoil within the planning body. Applications have been restricted to those working at principal officer or above. The pay for the role may be above what a candidate currently receives but he or she would revert to their original pay when their term is up, which could also be seen as a deterrent.

Another source said that specific kinds of expertise are needed, which might not be widely available across the civil service.

Applications have been restricted to civil servants as that is what the legislation allows for.

It is also understood that the call-out was not circulated within the Department of Housing so as to mitigate against any potential conflicts given the broad range of areas with decisions, consents and interactions with planning legislation now and into the future. Furthermore, civil servants who wish to apply will have to complete a conflict declaration.

In a recent report for the Office of the Planning Regulator, planning experts said Mr O’Brien should consider temporary appointments to ensure An Bord Pleanála has “more than 10 board members” in the coming 12-month period.

The reduced board had 2,122 cases on hand at the end of August, up from 1,637 at the end of 2021, and up from some 1,100 that was usual at the end of years between 2017 and 2020.

Earlier this month The Irish Times reported that the Director of Public Prosecutions has instigated a criminal prosecution against Mr Hyde following a Garda investigation into claims of impropriety in his conduct at the planning appeals authority. He resigned in July during a senior barrister’s investigation for Mr O’Brien into claims of impropriety in his legal declarations to An Bord Pleanála and allegations that he was conflicted in some planning cases. Mr Hyde has denied any wrongdoing.