The fallout from the controversy engulfing An Bord Pleanála continues to wreak havoc in the planning system. Yesterday, planning permission for 1,400 housing units was quashed in the High Court after An Bord Pleanála conceded three cases that were linked to its former deputy chairman, Paul Hyde. Those challenging the developments raised the issue of objective bias in the board's decision-making process. The board's legal advice was that it could not defend those challenges.

I want to say clearly that Mr. Hyde is facing a criminal prosecution following a Garda investigation into his conduct at the board, but my remarks do not relate to that. The criminal prosecution is not a matter for this House and I am making no comment on it. However, the prospect of a large number of planning permissions being quashed in the High Court is most certainly something we should be discussing. It seems to me there is a concerted determination in Government circles to sweep the scandal of An Bord Pleanála under an increasingly large and bumpy carpet.

A number of reviews have been undertaken. Most recently, the Planning Regulator issued a report in the past week demanding urgent reform in An Bord Pleanála across a range of areas. The response of the board to that damning report was to welcome the fact it did not contain specific criticisms of the board's practices. How an organisation, not least an extremely important authority the reputation of which is currently in tatters, could read such a devastating critique of itself and issue such a cheery response is, frankly, beyond me. It raises serious questions about whether those who remain in leadership positions at the board are up to the task of instituting the kind of root-and-branch reform that is required. How can you drive reform if you do not acknowledge the problems?

A related issue arises. One of the outstanding reviews of An Bord Pleanála is one it is undertaking of itself. As far as we know, the conduct of other board members will not form part of that review or any review. This is despite the fact we know some sitting board members routinely overruled the reports of their own planning inspectors and made decisions on planning applications that were near or even next door to their own homes.

My questions to the Minister are as follows. How many planning permissions are going to be quashed as a result of this scandal? Has the Government been provided with that information? Is An Bord Pleanála likely to face legal action from developers in cases where permissions have been quashed? Does the Government have confidence in the chairman of An Bord Pleanála and, if so, does it have confidence in him to deliver the reform of the board that is so urgently needed? Why is it that the decisions of just one board member, Mr. Hyde, have been scrutinised when allegations have been made about others in news reports, including, for example, Michelle Fagan? It just does not make sense.

I start by assuring the Deputy the Government is not sweeping anything under the carpet. We regard the revelations that have emerged as being of the utmost seriousness. That is why the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has acted decisively and it is why the Government is acting. The Minister has obtained Government approval for an action plan for An Bord Pleanála, outlining a series of specific measures to address the Office of the Planning Regulator's phase 1 review recommendations. The issue has been discussed at Government level.

It is important to recap briefly. The issue that triggered all of this is one with which we are well familiar. On 27 July, the Minister received the report from Mr. Remy Farrell SC into the management of conflicts of interest and relevant disclosures by the deputy chairperson of An Bord Pleanála in respect of certain decisions of the board.

As the Deputy has acknowledged, in the middle of August, on the advice of the Attorney General the Minister referred the report to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, An Garda Síochána and the Standards In Public Office Commission, SIPO. The Office of the DPP is actively dealing with the matter and has requested that Mr. Farrell's report not be published or otherwise released until such time as the process has been concluded. In view of this, it would be inappropriate for me, or anyone on behalf of the Government, to comment further on that specific matter. I acknowledge that the Deputy has not asked me to do so.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has obtained Government approval for an action plan arising from phase 1 of the recommendations of the Office of the Planning Regulator, OPR, as part of the review that was carried out by the OPR of An Bord Pleanála. The action plan includes measures to address conflicts of interest, changes to the board appointment system, strengthening the senior management team and the provision of further resources to An Bord Pleanála. A whole series of very significant and impactful changes have been agreed to and will be implemented. We provided significant resources to the Minister of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in the budget for beefing up the capacity of An Bord Pleanála and to address a number of the issues that have been raised.

With regard to broader issues that have been raised on the board's internal processes, on 24 August the OPR initiated its review of An Bord Pleanála systems and procedures of part of its review programme. The review, which is being undertaken by independent planning experts from other jurisdictions and Mr. Conleth Bradley SC, is being carried out in two parts in line with the terms of reference which have been published on the OPR's website. This review will help inform other internal changes as required and will also assist in identifying legislative amendments which may be required. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has welcomed the publication of phase 1 of the OPR review of An Bord Pleanála. The OPR review sets out a series of recommendations, a number of which the Minister and his Department will now act upon, and a number of which will fall to the board for implementation. In order to uphold trust in the planning system and maintain its ongoing functionality, the Minister has concluded that a range of actions are now required which involve both immediate and medium to longer term actions as well.

I asked the Minister if he is aware of the number of planning permission decisions that are likely to be quashed, whether the board will face further legal action or actions from people who have had planning permissions revoked, and if the Government has confidence in the chairman of the board. On conflicts of interest, there are other people who have had conflicts of interest, including in respect of making decisions very close to where they live when that is supposed to be precluded. Will the Minister address that? Last year, An Bord Pleanála spent 45% of its budget losing or conceding challenges in the High Court. Some of that goes back to the disastrous political decision to turn the planning appeals board into an application process for strategic housing developments, SHDs. That was purely a political decision. It was very predictable at that point that people would revert to the courts because they were not being given the opportunity to appeal. I think it was a desperate decision and I made that point when the decision was being made. I ask the Minister to respond to the questions that I asked.

First, An Bord Pleanála is independent in its functions, but of course that does not put it beyond the reach of accountability. It has to be accountable. I cannot give the Deputy a figure on the number of planning permissions that might be overturned in the Irish courts, nor would it be possible for anyone to estimate that. Of course, any overturning of a planning decision by a court of law is a serious matter. To be honest, there have been too many instances, in particular, relating to SHD decisions by An Bord Pleanála, that have been overturned in the courts, presumably on very good legal grounds. We need to have a planning system that is more robust, where the final destination for the outcome of planning matters is in our planning bodies rather than in the courts of law. As the Deputy is aware, there is a substantive piece of work under way which is nearing completion now, whereby a new consolidated planning Bill will be brought forward by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage very shortly. We believe that that will significantly streamline and make the system more efficient. It will reduce the legal risk of planning decisions being overturned in a court of law. I will not comment on allegations that are being made by others. As the Deputy knows, an internal review is under way into particular allegations that have been made and specific decisions that certain parties were party to within An Bord Pleanála. I cannot comment on those.