Source : Irish Examiner Fri, 21 Feb, 2025 Cianan Brennan

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41578378.html

An Bord Pleanála has insisted it does not formulate policy around planning decisions, despite a board member telling an investigation into its decisions a “change in policy emphasis” had encouraged the erection of telecommunications masts.

A recently-ended two-year investigation by senior counsel Lorna Lynch into planning matters at the agency concluded an undesirable “statistical anomaly” existed in terms of An Bord Pleanála inspectors’ recommendations to refuse permission for such masts being overturned by two specific board members.

Ms Lynch further concluded there were insufficient grounds to refer that matter to the minister for housing to decide whether or not those decisions constituted “stated misbehaviour”.

While the planning board has declined to publish Ms Lynch’s report on foot of legal advice, a summary of the report’s findings, recently released by board chair Peter Mullan, noted in coming to her conclusions regarding those mast decisions, Ms Lynch had “relied upon the evidence of one board member that there was a change in policy emphasis to a view that it was important to have mobile phone mast infrastructure, where possible”.

Planning policy in legal terms is ordinarily dictated by the minister for housing on foot of the Planning Act, with more general policy stemming from the National Planning Framework and, at a more granular level, the county development plans.

An Bord Pleanála was previously understood to be required to have regard to those policies in making its decisions, as opposed to dictating “policy emphasis” itself.

Planning lawyer with FP Logue Solicitors Eoin Brady, who has overseen a number of legal challenges of An Bord Pleanála’s previous mast decisions, said such a change in policy emphasis should be published so the public knows what criteria are being used to make planning decisions.

“They’re saying a change in policy emphasis. Well, is that change documented? We would want to see it, to be able to scrutinise it. How else are we to advise clients as to whether or not any decision has been properly arrived at if there is an unwritten policy?” Mr Brady said.

“We now know that there was a change in policy emphasis and the public are entitled to know what that change was, what the baseline was before, when the change happened, and crucially what is the policy now,” he said.

In response to a query from the Irish Examiner regarding Ms Lynch’s statement there had been a change in policy emphasis, a Bord Pleanála spokesperson said it “is not appropriate” for Mr Mullan to comment on Ms Lynch’s conclusions.

“The board itself does not formulate policy,” the spokesperson said.

Separate questions as to where or when the change in policy emphasis originated from, if it had been documented in writing or officially published, and as to what the policy is now, were not responded to.

The Irish Examiner first reported in May 2022 that former deputy chair of ABP Paul Hyde had voted to overrule his own planning inspectors in the majority of applications for telecommunications masts over the previous two years.

Mr Hyde later separately pleaded guilty to two offences in terms of non-declaration of assets and received a criminal conviction, though a custodial sentence was overturned on appeal.

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