merrion street

The High Court made an Order this morning quashing that part of the Planning Review Report (published by my Department in June 2012) relating to Donegal. This Order was made following a settlement between my Department and Mr. Gerard Convie, who had brought judicial review proceedings in respect of that part of the Report.

In reaching the settlement my Department acknowledged, inter alia, the right of Mr. Convie to a good name and acknowledged his sincerely held concerns in relation to planning matters in Donegal and agreed to pay him €25,000 in damages.

For his part, Mr. Convie agreed not to bring any legal proceedings against the Department and related parties arising from the Report or findings in the Report relating to him.

I am glad that this matter has been disposed of to the satisfaction of both sides.

I am determined to uphold the integrity of the planning system. It is vital that scrutiny and evaluation of the planning process is not only fair and objective, but is also seen to be so by the public. The quashing of one section of the report requires a response.

I am today announcing my intention to appoint independent planning consultants under Section 255 of the Planning and Development Acts to conduct an independent assessment of planning procedures and practices in the six other local authorities that were the subject of the Planning Review Report.

A public tender for the work will issue in the coming weeks.