Report into alleged conflicts of interest regarding An Bord Pleanála's Paul Hyde delivered
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A much-anticipated report into allegations of conflicts of interest regarding former deputy chair of An Bord Pleanála Paul Hyde has been delivered to the Minister for Housing.
The report, compiled by senior counsel Remy Farrell, was received on Thursday afternoon, a day ahead of its expected release and five weeks after its initial delivery date.
Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien, in a brief statement, thanked Mr Farrell and barrister Chris Mills who had assisted Mr Farrell in compiling the report.
Mr O’Brien said he had given a copy of the report to the Attorney General for his review and advice. He said he “will not be making any further comment pending consideration of the report”.
Government sources had previously indicated that the report, first commissioned by the Minister on April 27 following a number of media stories regarding Mr Hyde’s alleged conduct in his role at An Bord Pleanála, will be published once it has been considered legally, assuming no issues arise.
The review had sought Mr Farrell’s opinion on four matters – three individual planning decisions involving Mr Hyde, and a judgement regarding Mr Hyde’s personal financial circumstances with possible creditors.
Despite intense media scrutiny regarding goings-on at the planning authority in the interim and calls from the Opposition in the Dáil for the review to be expanded, the terms of reference for the review remained unchanged.
One of the three cases involved a refusal by An Bord Pleanála of a strategic housing development at Pope’s Hill in Cork city in March of this year. It subsequently emerged that Mr Hyde part-owns a property situated adjacent to that proposed development, something he had not declared to An Bord Pleanála.
A second case involves a decision by Mr Hyde to approve without conditions a development at his sister-in-law's house at Sandymount in Dublin in May of 2021.
Mr Hyde has always denied any impropriety on his part. He stepped back from his duties at An Bord Pleanála “without prejudice” on May 9, only to resign from the board entirely on July 8.