I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. In connection with the housing crisis, another issue which has come up a number of times in my discussions with businesspeople and developers is the length of time it takes to get planning permission. Developers who want to build houses have told me it can take up to three or four years to get planning permission, which is far too long.

The delays begin when working with local authorities to design suitable sites. When applications are granted, they are then more than likely appealed to An Bord Pleanála for approval. One person told me recently that his planning application for over 40 houses has been with An Bord Pleanála for over two years, with no definitive date for decision. With the related issues of a housing crisis and a crisis in companies trying to secure staff, can a time limit be set for An Bord Pleanála to make a decision on large-scale housing developments, similar to the one put in place for local authorities? Local authorities have to make a decision on a planning application within eight weeks of it being lodged. I believe this would speed up the delivery of housing.

I thank the Deputy. The answer to his question is "Yes". We intend to do that. As he will know, local authorities have to make a decision - I cannot remember if it is within four or five weeks.

Eight weeks.

There is no statutory limit for An Bord Pleanála. Under the Planning and Development Act, we intend to introduce statutory time limits during which An Bord Pleanála has to make a decision on an appeal.

That also means staffing up An Bord Pleanála to ensure it can actually achieve that because we do not want the refusal rate to go up as a means of satisfying the timeline. That can happen sometimes. We are staffing up An Bord Pleanála, bringing in the extra skills it needs, appointing new board members and getting ready for the introduction of those statutory deadlines contained in the Planning and Development Act. We also need to ensure judicial reviews happen less frequently and when they do happen, happen more quickly. The Deputy will be aware of the additional judges we are appointing to the courts. In particular, the additional judges we are appointing to the courts will allow some judges to be asked to specialise in family law cases and planning cases so those cases can be dealt with more quickly and dealt with by judges who have built up a level of skill and familiarity with cases of that nature.