30% of planning rulings are overturned - report

Three out of four applications to build one-off houses received planning permission last year but An Bord Pleanála overturned more than 30 per cent of planning decisions by local authorities.

The planning board reversed almost 90 per cent of decisions on one-off houses by Monaghan County Council, according to a report on the performance of local authorities published by the Local Government Management Services Board.

The planning pattern in Monaghan has already come under scrutiny from Environment Minister John Gormley, who last month directed the council to reverse proposals for land rezonings in the county development plan.

An Bord Pleanála also reversed 78 per cent of decisions made by Longford County Council and 75 per cent of decisions by Cavan County Council. Half of all decisions on one-off houses in counties Cork, Donegal and Wexford were overturned.

The overall rejection rate for one-off housing has grown to 27 per cent, from 22 per cent in 2004.

One-third of applications for housing developments were rejected, and An Bord Pleanála reversed 31 per cent of the original decisions of local authorities for such schemes, according to the report, Service Indicators in Local Authorities.

The approval rate for other planning applications, such as house extensions, is much higher, with just 7 per cent being rejected at local authority stage.

The board reversed one-quarter of these permissions where they were appealed.

Last year, local authorities investigated almost 12,000 planning complaints, but only 650 prosecutions were taken, the report shows.

Laois County Council, which investigated 174 complaints, and Limerick City Council, which received 25, made no prosecutions.

The report reveals big variations in the proportion of household waste recycled, from 6.5 per cent in Co Carlow to 58 per cent in Co Longford.

Mr Gormley said yesterday that counties with low recycling rates needed to improve their performance.

Libraries are back in vogue, the report also shows, with 21 per cent of people registered as a member of their local branch.

In Dublin, almost 40 per cent of people are members while the lowest figure is recorded in Co Laois, at 11.8 per cent.

The full report can be accessed on www.lgmsb.ie