To ask the Minister of the Environment for his assessment of the impact of the proposed re-deployment of Planning Service staff on the Strategic Projects Unit.

In response to your previous written questions I have already outlined the background and financial/economic reasons for the decision to redeploy the 271 planning service staff.

To reiterate, in light of the much reduced volume of planning applications and reduced income, the Planning Service is seeking to identify cost reduction measures which will help it to align staffing levels and costs more closely with work demands and revenue.

The Strategic Projects Unit, in common with all parts of the Planning Service, will have to reorganise to live within its reduced staffing allocation and reprioritise resources to ensure the impact from the reduction in staff is minimised and key services to customers can be maintained.

I will also ensure that the Department makes the appropriate representations to DFP for additional in year funding at the June Monitoring round. You may also wish to note that the Department has initiated a fundamental review of the nature and structure of the fees charged for planning services with the aim of ensuring that the fee charges for specific chargeable services are broadly consistent with the costs of providing those services.