At the oral hearing

Mobile phones

Wi-Fi

Irish Language and oral hearings

• Proposed development is located in a Gaeltacht area, oral hearing is in Irish unless participants agree to use English.
• Proposed development is located partly in a Gaeltacht area, oral hearing is in English with facilities for the use of Irish if required.
• Proposed development is located not in a Gaeltacht area, Oral hearing is in English unless participants agree to use Irish.

Fairness, transparency, and confidential information

The inspector will not accept information which is requested to be kept confidential from others. Participants are not permitted to speak to the inspector on a one-to-one basis in a non-public setting or to make arrangements to give the inspector further information outside of the oral hearing.
 

Recording the oral hearing

Participants in the oral hearing are not allowed to take photographs or to record video images or sound with any device (for example: mobile phone, dictaphone, tablet, camcorder). It is also not permitted to have a professional stenographer in the venue to prepare a transcript.

An Bord Pleanála may arrange for the oral hearing to be digitally recorded or for a transcript to be prepared by a stenographer. This is to help the inspector prepare their report and for the assistance of the Board during its consideration of the case. If a recording is prepared this is made available to the public after the case has been decided.
 

Media

Members of the media are welcome to sit in the public seating area of the venue. If media outlets wish to take photographs or video footage of the room before the start of an oral hearing session, approval must be obtained in advance from the inspector.

Please note that permission may not always be granted by the inspector. As outlined above, no video or sound recording is permitted of the actual oral hearing proceedings.