Development control commissions

Over the past years, severe criticism has been levied about the inconsistencies in decisions resulting from different decision-making bodies within Mepa. At present, the Mepa board and the three DCCs have a different chairman. Having a different chairman for each decision-making body may contribute to a disjointed interpretation of policies, as well as, inconsistencies in the final decisions about the granting or otherwise of development permits. It must be borne in mind that the Mepa board delegates most of its decision-making powers in respect of development applications to the DCCs and therefore the latter have a crucial role to play in securing consistency.

The DCCs themselves are an integral part of the chairman's office and are often the "face" of the organisation itself in the light of their extensive decision-making remit. Inconsistencies should be avoided and a uniform benchmark introduced. In order to achieve both greater efficiency and consistency in decision-making, the government considers that DCCs need to operate on a full-time basis and to increase the coordination between themselves.

In order to ensure enhanced consistency in decision-making, the government will be appointing two full-time chairmen to chair the two full-time DCCs. The chairmen would also automatically hold the position of deputy chairman on the Mepa board.

The presence of these deputies on both the Mepa Board and the DCCs should result in a more coordinated and consistent approach in all facets of Mepa's decision-making process as they would be able to transmit the Mepa Board's policies consistently within the DCCs, and reflect the problems and concerns encountered at this level to a higher authority. This approach should narrow the degree of subjectivity in judgment across Mepa's operations and provide for a more efficient use of resources.