Fianna Fáil has called on Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy to boost the resources available to An Bord Pleanála.
The party's Housing Spokesperson, Darragh O’Brien TD, urged the Minister to act after he discovered a decline in staff in An Bord Pleanála over the past decade.
Mr O'Brien obtained and compiled data which found there has been a reduction of 10% in the number of staff since 2008.
He said: "At a time when housing is so urgently needed, facilitating development projects should be a priority but instead there are very clear signs of serious blockages in planning.
"Numerous builders have raised their concerns with me regarding undue delays in An Bord Pleanála reaching a decision on proposed new housing developments.
"The statutory body has a legal obligation to reach a decision within a set timeframe but the rate of completion within that specified time has gone from 79% to 64% in 2016 to 2017. It's now the case that the average completion time has risen by another two weeks from 15 weeks to 17 weeks.
"As more and more decisions are being drawn out with requests for further information, these targets seem to be slipping. The end result is that it is taking exceptionally long to get a final decision on a housing proposal which in turn costs more and takes longer to build badly needed homes."
According to their latest report, An Bord Pleanála's work load has grown by 19% year on year since 2016.
Deputy O'Brien added: "During a major housing emergency, staffing in our national planning agency is still 11% below 2008 levels. It therefore appears that there is an insufficient number of staff to deal with planning decisions in a prompt manner.
"Minister Murphy has stated he is satisfied that An Bord Pleanála is sufficiently resourced yet that's at complete odds to the growing fears raised by builders that are sitting on housing projects waiting to get building.
"Effectively tackling the housing crisis requires a wide range of measures and ensuring that planning decisions are made in a timely manner is one of them."
He concluded: "I am calling on the Minister to boost the resources available to An Bord Pleanála and ensure local authorities are adequately equipped to carry out their planning duties."
(CM)
Time and date
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTORY
Latest Construction News
22/11/2024
A contract to design the Sandymount Flood Defence Scheme in Dublin has been awarded to Jacobs by the City Council. Sandymount is one of the city areas most vulnerable to coastal flooding and is also, separately, at risk from surface water flooding, i.e. run-off from rainfall. The contract ...
22/11/2024
Northern Ireland construction company Farrans has scooped a Highly Commended All-Ireland Occupational Safety Award. The company's SHE team members Joe Loughan and Ryan Carson attended the recent premier event, which were held in the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney, to be presented with a ...
22/11/2024
A 'Back to the 80s' themed charity ball, which was sponsored by a number of construction companies, has helped raise a record-breaking £118,000 profit for WaterAid. The international charity's event was held recently in Titanic Belfast will all of the funds raised going towards the WaterAid ...
22/11/2024
The M3 Lagan Bridge in Belfast will undergo urgent repair work from Tuesday, November 26, in order to replace damaged joints. As a result of the essential requirement to carry out these works, and to ensure the availability of specialist contractors, a series of lane closures will be in place ...
22/11/2024
Scheduled resurfacing works at the Syndenham bypass in Belfast, which were due to continue this weekend, will now not go ahead and the road will remain open. This comes as a result of a yellow Met office warning put in place for part of Saturday. An overnight closure will remain in place between ...
22/11/2024
Works to improve Kinsale's water supply in County Cork are set to commence next week. The project entails the replacement of over 500 metres of old watermains that are prone to frequent bursts and leakage with new modern pipes. The works will be carried out by Ward and Burke Construction Ltd on ...
22/11/2024
The first phase of sewer relining works on the Shore Road in Belfast has been successfully completed ahead of schedule by contractor Murphy Dawson WAM, NI Water has announced. As a result, the road has now fully reopened earlier than anticipated. The work to date has seen over half a kilometre of ...
22/11/2024
Leakage reduction works and water supply improvements to homes and businesses in Dublin 2 have been completed. The works, which were carried out on behalf of Uisce Éireann by GMC Utilities Group Ltd, involved the replacement of 180 metres of ageing water pipes between the junction of D'Olier ...
22/11/2024
CRH member company Roadstone has completed a major plant and equipment investment at its quarry, aggregates, and concrete products sites in the Republic of Ireland. The equipment – supplied to them by Komatsu and Metso distributors in Ireland, McHale Plant Sales – included Komatsu WA475 and WA600 ...
22/11/2024
A new member has been added to the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) for Architecture and the Built Environment for Northern Ireland. Mrs Suzanne McCoy has been announced as the latest MAG addition by Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons MLA, and will begin her role from December 1, 2024 until ...