The renaming of An Bord Pleanála to An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) has incurred a cost of just under €77,000 for the State’s planning watchdog, reports RTE.
New figures from the ACP reveal that the renaming project has cost the State’s flagship planning agency €76,921.
The largest expense is a €22,045 allocation for installing external over-entrance signage and two corner projection signs bearing the new name at the agency’s headquarters on Marlborough Street in Dublin, reports RTE.
The €76,921 expenditure also includes €18,450 for architect consultancy services, which provided design, coordination, and project management for internal ground floor signs and external signage.
Furthermore, the budget includes €18,450 for a radio ad campaign, €5,380 for a cancellation fee for a new sign installation, €6,363 for newspaper notices, and €3,637 for the change of name on the corporate seal and rubber stamps, reports RTE.
Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin criticized the spending, stating that the name change was “completely unnecessary” since there was no need to alter the name of An Bord Pleanála.
When the name change proposal was first introduced in 2023 following scandals at the then-An Bord Pleanála, the trade union Fórsa opposed it, arguing that it constituted “collective punishment,” reports RTE.
In correspondence with then Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, Fórsa’s assistant general secretary, Ian McDonnell, explained that the union branch within An Bord Pleanála had passed a motion expressing its opposition to the proposed name change.
McDonnell argued that the proposed name change reflected negatively on all employees of the organization and was akin to “collective punishment of all (past and present) members who have diligently and conscientiously adhered to public sector values of impartiality and integrity,” reports RTE.
Deputy Ó Broin, a member of the Oireachtas Housing Committee, tabled an amendment to the then Planning and Development Bill to retain the name An Bord Pleanála, but this proposal was rejected by the Government.
Asked about staff’s attitude toward the name change, a spokesperson for An Coimisiún Pleanála today stated that while there was initial unhappiness when the name change was first suggested in early 2023, the staff and planning commissioners of the Commission have now embraced and accepted it, reports RTE.
He emphasized that “good developments are built on solid foundations,” and An Coimisiún Pleanála is built on the most solid foundation, which is due to the contributions of all former staff and board members who have served with An Bord Pleanála over the past 48 years.
As part of its efforts to reduce the backlog in appeals, An Coimisiún Pleanála has made significant progress. By the end of June 2025, the number of senior planning inspectors increased to 60, compared to 45 at the end of December 2023, reports RTE.
The appeals board now has two directors of planning, while the number of planning inspectors has decreased from 39 at the end of last year to 35. However, five new appointees are scheduled to start in July and August.
The most recent quarterly figures show a positive trend, with the number of cases on hand at the end of March 2024 decreasing by 878 or 39% compared to the end of March 2023, reaching 1,369 cases, reports RTE.
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