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FOI General Information

General Information about An Bord Pleanála

An Bord Pleanála was established under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1976 which became Law on 5th July, 1976. The Act transferred the appellate functions from the Minister under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 to the organisation. The 1st January, 1977, was designated to be the day on which An Bord Pleanála would be established.

For more information on this please click here.

Details regarding the organisation's location and contact details e.g. postal address, telephone and email, can be accessed by clicking here.

The roles, responsibilities and functions of An Bord Pleanála are set out in the Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended.

An Bord Pleanála is bound by the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies. An Bord Pleanála has the following committees to help govern the organisation:

  • the Full Board committee,
  • the Management committee,
  • the Partnership committee.

An Bord Pleanála has a number of plans and strategies in place for both the public and the organisations' employees.


An Bord Pleanála submits an "Annual Report and Accounts" to the Minister of the Environment, Community and Local Government in line with section 118 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended.

A copy of the Annual Report and Accounts 2019 can be seen on the organisation's website.

Copies of previous annual reports can be found here.

Under its current Organisation Structure An Bord Pleanála hosts:

  • 1 Chairperson,
  • 1 Deputy Chairperson,
  • 7 Board members

All of the above are employed by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and inquiries as to pay scales should be submitted to them.

For information on the board members, please click here.

The organisation currently employs the following numbers of staff members:

  • 1 Chief Officer

Under the administrative roles, the organisation employs

  • 1 Director of Corporate Affairs,
  • 9 Senior Administrative Officers,
  • 15 Senior Executive Officers,
  • 49 Executive Officers, and
  • 35 Administrative Assistants.

Under the professional roles, the organisation employs;

  • 1 Director of Planning,
  • 4 Assistant Directors of Planning Officers,
  • 31 Senior Planning Inspectors, and
  • 25 Planning Inspectors.

An Bord Pleanála is subject to the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 pay scales.
For more information regarding these please click here.

An Bord Pleanála has Memorandums of Understanding in place with the following organisations:

  • Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators,
  • Environmental Protection Agency,
  • The Health and Safety Authority and
  • The Commission for Energy Regulation.

The Board have a Service Level Agreement with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government.

Codes of Practice or Guidelines held by An Bord Pleanála:

  1. Code of Conduct
  2. Viewing a Decided Case File: Public Access Guide
  3. Making a Planning Appeal Guide
  4. Fees and Charges Guide
  5. Strategic Infrastructure Development - Applicants Guidelines
  6. Strategic Infrastructure Development - Members of the Public Guide
  7. Strategic Infrastructure Development - Planning Authorities
  8. An Bord Pleanála Policy and Code of Practice on Confidential Disclosures
  9. Appropriate Assessment Guidelines