Chapter 7

The complainant appealed the decision regarding P02/591 to An Bord Pleanála but it was deemed to be invalid. However, he sought copies of documentation submitted to An Bord Pleanála by Clare County Council in respect of his appeal and received same from An Bord Pleanála. This documentation does not have any "date received" stamps on it at all. Similarly the copies of documentation available and on view to the general public in the Council Offices no longer have "date received" stamps on them.

The Council's Response

The Council stated that the undated copy sent to An Bord Pleanála was a copy of part of the application which had been referred to the Area Planner without the date stamp on it. Only a duplicate, undated file was available in the Planning Section at the time of the appeal as the original, dated file was needed elsewhere. The original file was later returned to the Planning Section and is available for inspection in the normal manner.

The View of this Office

The Council has explained how the documents sent to An Bord Pleanála were undated. It is also clear from the information provided by the Council and outlined above, that there were difficulties with the date stamping of application P02/591, on receipt, and that the Council has accepted it erred in this respect. It appears that the error may have carried through to other records including the records provided by the Council to An Board Pleanála. The stamping errors, which are acknowledged by the Council, have been considered fully under 2 above. It does not appear that the unstamped records would have had an adverse effect on the complainant and, in any case, the appeal was rejected and, therefore, the matter does not require further consideration.