Transforming planning through people and partnership
An Coimisiún Pleanála is reshaping how Ireland’s national planning body works by improving access, strengthening operational capacity and preparing for a more connected planning system, while protecting the independence and impartiality of our decision-making, write Peter Mullan, Chief Executive Officer and Martin Cotter, Director of Transformation at An Coimisiún Pleanála.
Transformation at An Coimisiún Pleanála is not about technology for its own sake. It is about providing a better service to the public, making effective use of our resources, and working differently across the planning system. Our Strategic Plan 2026-2028 commits us to being a trusted, effective, and progressive national planning body delivering for the common good. Digital transformation is an important enabler of that ambition.
We have taken a deliberate approach to modernisation. We first examine how a process works, identify where unnecessary effort or duplication arises, and how the public and our stakeholders experience it. Only then do we decide how technology can help.
The objective is not to digitise old practices but to question them and consider whether the same statutory and governance objectives can be achieved more simply and efficiently. This is consistent with the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan objective for public bodies to coordinate effectively, simplify processes, and reduce unnecessary administrative burden.
Transformation is taking place while normal business continues. Staff are adapting to a new case management system, preparing for further implementation of the Planning and Development Act 2024, digitising case files, and changing long-established processes. Our business experts lead this work with staff engagement, training, and support built in. Incremental delivery allows us to manage considerable change while maintaining operational continuity.
A critical foundation is our new case management system, developed in-house on modern cloud technology. Planning casework is highly specialised, with distinct processes by case type, internal governance requirements, and changing legislative needs. Retaining development capability in-house gives the Commission the flexibility to adapt the platform as these requirements evolve.
That does not mean us building everything ourselves. We develop bespoke capability where our requirements justify it, while using proven commercial products and shared government services wherever possible.
Power BI provides our reporting and analytics capability, while our online appeals service was delivered with the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer through shared government ‘digital building blocks’. This service has been live since 20 April 2026, and we now intend to build on that partnership by migrating our existing in-house online observations service to the same shared platform.
This approach combines flexibility with the efficiency, interoperability, and economies of scale available through established platforms. It avoids duplication, supports value for money for the taxpayer and creates an architecture able to connect with wider government services and the national digital planning system.
The same philosophy is changing how case information is handled. Direct application public files are now published online through an automated process. This allows observations, submissions, and other relevant documentation to be viewed online rather than requiring travel to the Commission or a planning authority office.
We are also questioning how information has traditionally moved between the Commission and planning authorities. Instead of simply digitising long-established practices, we have examined whether the same statutory requirements can be met in a simpler way. Driven by the Commission and agreed through close collaboration with planning authorities and LGMA leadership, we are piloting a ‘publish once, access the authoritative source’ approach.
Rather than planning authorities downloading, renaming, and transferring application documentation to the Commission, documents can remain on their websites and be accessed directly. Similarly, relevant appeal documentation can be published by the Commission rather than being printed and circulated. The pilot allows us to identify operational or regulatory issues and refine the approach before wider implementation.
This is process reform enabled by technology, rather than digitising an existing administrative burden. It can reduce duplication, printing, postage, and manual handling while maintaining the integrity and accessibility of the planning record. The Commission is also represented on the national digital planning system project board, and this work supports readiness for a more connected planning ecosystem.
Data is another important part of the transformation. Power BI is enabling a unified analytics capability across our systems, providing management with timely operational and performance information. We will expand this as new statutory timelines are implemented, supporting more granular analysis, evidence-based resource decisions, and appropriate information-sharing with stakeholders.
The next phase will transform how people find information and interact with the Commission. We plan to redevelop our website and public case-search experience, providing near real-time case updates, improved search, and email notifications as cases progress.
Artificial intelligence presents another opportunity, but one we are approaching carefully. New statutory timelines, faster processing requirements, and increasingly high submission volumes mean we need to examine how technology can responsibly assist staff.
We are developing a bespoke AI policy and governance framework for a controlled first use on the collation, categorisation, and summarisation of submissions. AI outputs will be reviewed by people and used only as internal aids. AI will not make decisions, recommend outcomes, or replace professional judgement.
Taken together, this is a programme of institutional change: improve the process first, involve the people who understand it, automate where that adds value, reuse shared public service capability, and deliver in manageable stages. Our objective is a more accessible, transparent, and efficient Commission, contributing to faster infrastructure delivery with independent, professional judgement remaining firmly at its centre.
