Report of the Local Government Efficiency Review Group

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• Development management and the processing of planning applications; • Pre-planning consultation meetings with prospective applicants; • Planning enforcement and dealing with unauthorised development; • Conservation, protected structures, and protection of buildings of architectural, historical or cultural significance; • Taking of estates in charge; and • Carrying out Strategic Environmental Assessments of local authority plans and programmes, and Environmental Impact Assessments of local authority development projects. 10.4.3 The total budgeted expenditure for planning services in 2010 by local authorities is €296.6 million, significantly down from just under €341 million spent on these services in 2009. The €296.6 million figure also includes significant expenditure on community and enterprise, economic development and promotion, heritage and conservation, and other nonplanning expenditure. In early 2010 the number of staff reported by local authorities working in development management, forward planning, planning enforcement, conservation, and other planning fields in local government was just over 1,700, accounting for over 5% of all local authority staff. 10.4.4 The nature of the work in the planning area has changed significantly over the past number of years. During the construction peak, the focus at planning authority level was on development management with the processing of large numbers of planning applications (92,600 applications in 2006 and 86,800 in 2007). With the number of planning applications now reduced significantly (to 38,500 in 2009), there is a major shift in emphasis towards forward planning in the following areas: • Review and implementation of regional planning guidelines; • Preparation of local area plans; • New forward planning requirements in planning legislation; and • New obligations on planning authorities arising from recent European Court of Justice cases in relation to Environmental Impact Assessment and Appropriate Assessment. 10.4.5 The bulk of the foregoing work is now being carried out in-house where previously planning authorities would have engaged external consultants. 10.4.6 Planning staff are also assisting in enforcement proceedings in relation to the collection of outstanding development contributions. By the end of 2009, nearly 2,500 individual cases had been referred to enforcement sections for legal action. In addition nearly 4,300 individual developments had been inspected to establish if development contributions were due. 10.4.7 Notwithstanding the ongoing workload in the areas of forward planning and planning enforcement, where the latter in particular requires a significant number of inspections and investigations, it is reasonable to expect that the 130
current levels of resourcing for planning staff and administrative support in the development management role should decline significantly. The Group is therefore proposing a 10% reduction in staffing levels in the planning area through redeployment (see section 6.10). This level of reduction might need to be moderated in circumstances where the levels of enforcement and related work significantly exceed expected levels. However the long-term target across the sector should remain a 10% reduction in staffing levels in the planning function. 10.4.8 While planning fees are set by central government, they only cover a fraction of the actual cost of processing planning applications – planning fees have not been increased since 1998. 10.4.9 The Indecon review of local government financing (see section 2.6) concluded that the costs of providing the planning service (including forward planning, development management, and enforcement functions) significantly exceeded the income generated in receipts from application fees – the costs providing these services in 2004 was €78.5 million, with fee income of €41.3 million, a shortfall of some €37 million. The report recommended that services provided on behalf of central government, such a planning, be charged at full economic costs. 10.4.10 In 2007, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government initiated a review of current planning fees with a view to establishing, across a number of applications classes, the extent of the shortfall that existed between fee levels currently charged and the corresponding service delivery level. The review broadly supported the findings of the Indecon Report and showed that costs of processing applications significantly outweighed fees income. For example, the current planning application fee for the construction of a single house is €65, while the average current cost of processing a planning application for a single house is several multiples of this amount at approximately €490, representing a gap of €425 (the €65 fee for a single house, also compares with an equivalent fee of €369 in England, €404 in Scotland and €765 in Northern Ireland). The fees charged for other categories of development also fall well short of the costs to local authorities of processing planning applications. This shortfall is being met through the general resources of local authorities. 10.4.11 The Commission on Taxation report also noted that planning fees are significantly lower than they are in other European countries, and the Commission proposed increased charges and an end to maximum fees for large developments. 10.4.12 On the basis of the review undertaken by the Department in 2007, it was estimated that an additional €40 million income could have been secured by moving to recovery of 50% of the costs of processing a planning application. This was based on the number of planning applications in 2006 which amounted to almost 92,600. The number of planning applications in 2009 had dropped to 38,500 planning applications, some 42% of the 2006 level. 131
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Report of the Local Government Effi
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5. Organisational Efficiency Issues
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14. Recommendations 14.1 Recommenda
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associated Government Statement, ne
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more focussed than previously on mu
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ating town councils is largely repr
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• The provision of quality custom
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1.7 Compliance Requirements on Loca
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2.1 National Public Finances 2. Bud
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Figure 2.2 - Total Local Authority
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evenue were needed for the local go
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Figure 2.3 - Sources of Local Autho
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Figure 2.4 -Sources of Local Author
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Figure 2.5 - Local Authority Curren
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Payroll Expenses Table 2.4 - Breakd
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2. Reintroducing domestic water cha
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Income €m € 1,600.0 € 1,400.0
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3. Local Government Experience of E
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maintenance are provided by the cou
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well as reductions in the number of
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4. Context - Looking Forward 4.1 Na
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4.2.6 Aside from keeping costs down
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5. Organisational Efficiency Issues
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statutorily vested in certain ratin
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5.5.6 Roads are classified into nat
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the majority of town councils, a pl
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5.7 Other Local Bodies 5.7.1 A smal
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• County council offices / area o
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Figure 6.1 - Local Authority Staff
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Figure 6.2 - Staffing per 1,000 Pop
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Figure 6.5 - Staffing Per 1,000 Pop
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Cluster Data Cluster Mayo Roscommon
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senior management staff - for examp
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ut this figure varies from 22% to 5
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eplacement with lower level staff w
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Corporate Services, HR, IT, and Fin
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to provide services in the corporat
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Recommendations: 6.11.1 In summary,
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7.1 Local Government Audit 7. Value
Page 79 and 80: through open recruitment. Opportuni
Page 81 and 82: the Director and relevant local gov
Page 83 and 84: 7.6.3 Local authorities should cons
Page 85 and 86: 8. Shared Services 8.1 Shared Servi
Page 87 and 88: 8.2.6 Many parts of the United Stat
Page 89 and 90: 8.4 Shared ‘Back Office’ Servic
Page 91 and 92: 8.4.12 For example, recruitment to
Page 93 and 94: approach which will be used to asse
Page 95 and 96: enefits in terms of pooling resourc
Page 97 and 98: while also improving the service fo
Page 99 and 100: Implementation Group suggested in s
Page 101 and 102: 9.2.4 The Local Government e-Procur
Page 103 and 104: forms are now captured online. This
Page 105 and 106: Table 9.1 - Non-Pay Items Procured
Page 107 and 108: 9.5.10 LAQuotes is used by the vast
Page 109 and 110: sectoral level, to promote exchange
Page 111 and 112: 10.1 Housing 10. Efficiencies in Pr
Page 113 and 114: 10.1.9 Two issues arise in this res
Page 115 and 116: that may arise in this respect as p
Page 117 and 118: the new Housing and Sustainable Com
Page 119 and 120: 10.2.6 To date, the emphasis of tol
Page 121 and 122: 10.2.14 The Group also noted the la
Page 123 and 124: • Allocating grants to improve th
Page 125 and 126: 10.3.11 It would also facilitate th
Page 127 and 128: consumption (see also section 9 in
Page 129: Financial Summary: Through a combin
Page 133 and 134: educe the number of such transactio
Page 135 and 136: Financial Summary: Through a combin
Page 137 and 138: in the trend of rationalisation of
Page 139 and 140: Table 10.1 - Motor Taxation Classes
Page 141 and 142: detail in issuing licences. Motor t
Page 143 and 144: 11.1 Treasury Management 11. Other
Page 145 and 146: for the overdraft, has the potentia
Page 147 and 148: • The online Roadworks Control sy
Page 149 and 150: management, etc. Use of professiona
Page 151 and 152: • Projects to streamline existing
Page 153 and 154: 12. Local Government and the Wider
Page 155 and 156: significant administrative overhead
Page 157 and 158: City Enterprise Boards with county/
Page 159 and 160: suggests that financial incentives
Page 161 and 162: 13. Cost Recovery and Revenue Issue
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Page 165 and 166: Minister for Education and Skills t
Page 167 and 168: legislation provides that arrears o
Page 169 and 170: Recommendations: 13.5.1 In summary,
Page 171 and 172: 14.1 Recommendations 14. Recommenda
Page 173 and 174: 25. Financial performance indicator
Page 175 and 176: Housing 48. Housing sections within
Page 177 and 178: Planning monitoring by other public
Page 179 and 180: Local Government and the Wider Publ
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that just because these recommendat
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Appendix 1 - List of Submissions Re
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Appendix 2 - Local Government Effic
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Gross Current Income by Source and
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County Councils Housing and Buildin
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Town Councils Housing and Building
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Non-Rating Town Councils (1) Paymen
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Regional Assembly Payments Receipts
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Local Authority Current Expenditure
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Town Council Population Size (Censu
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Appendix 5 - Local Government Net B
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Former Town Commissioners 2010 Net
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Appendix 7 - Performance Indicators
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Appendix 9 - Unaccounted for Water
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Appendix 11 - Membership of County
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Report of the Local Government Efficiency Review Group

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