Pac to review rejection of Cork city housing development
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A dossier of information regarding a decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission for a housing development in Cork City has been referred to the Public Accounts Committee.
The memorandum, seen by the , details a number of alleged irregularities regarding the An Bord Pleanála decision to refuse permission to a proposed strategic housing development at the Distillery Quarter in Blackpool.
The memorandum has been referred to the Pac for consideration at its next meeting by the committee’s vice-chair, Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy. The Pac is currently on hiatus for the Easter holidays but will return to session on April 28.
Earlier this week, An Bord Pleanála told the Irish Examiner it had “nothing further to add” regarding the fact its deputy chair failed to declare ownership of a site in Cork City next to the refused SHD.
The Ditch website previously reported that deputy chair of ABP Paul Hyde part-owns a plot of land at Pope’s Hill in Blackpool, the site of a residential apartment block just 50m from the refused SHD.
Mr Hyde, who is also the head of An Bord Pleanála’s SHD division, makes no mention of either the Blackpool property or any others in his declaration of interests signed in January of this year.
He was one of three ABP members present at the board meeting to discuss the Blackpool SHD on March 9. Permission was subsequently refused to the applicant, Eichsfeld Limited. Eichsfeld had applied to ABP last November for permission for an SHD to include 191 apartments, 10 parking spaces, and 448 bike spaces.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin spokesperson on public expenditure Mairéad Farrell has said that potential conflicts of interest for ABP decision-makers give rise to “grave concerns”.
“Each member of the board must ensure his or her compliance with the relevant provisions of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001,” Ms Farrell said.
"We now need to know if all members of the board are in compliance with this, and if not, what action is the minister planning on taking?"
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