Galway Ring Road latest: Environmentalists lodge complaint over 'inappropriate remarks' by ACP Chair
An Coimisiún Pleanála has confirmed it received a complaint about alleged “inappropriate” remarks made by a senior member of its Governing Board who welcomed the planning permission go-ahead for the Galway City Ring Road in a social media post.
Friends of the Irish Environment has flagged what it called “serious concerns” about public comments made by the Chair of the Governing Board of An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP).
They asked ACP to investigate after Mr Paul Reid publicly welcomed the approval of the Galway City Ring Road and Galway Harbour projects as “key to the Irish economy and regional development in the west of Ireland” on his LinkedIn account and congratulated “the inspectors, commissioners and everyone involved in An Coimisiún Pleanála”.
FIE lodged a formal complaint to Peter Mullan, the CEO of ACP under Section 502 of the Planning and Development Act 2024.
The environmental group argued that Mr Reid’s remarks risk undermining public confidence in the independence and impartiality of ACP, a quasi‑judicial body whose authority depends on the absence of bias and the perception of bias.
FIE pointed to ACP’s own Code of Conduct and the provisions of the 2024 Act which stress that commissioners must act independently, avoid public expressions of opinion on matters before the Commission, and refrain from publicly endorsing its decisions, particularly where those decisions may be or are subject to judicial review or remittal.
In its statement, FIE noted that, in recent years, ACP “has been the focus of serious governance failures and multiple independent reviews, all aimed at restoring public trust in the planning system and tightening safeguards around conflicts of interest and objective bias”.
Against that backdrop, FIE contended that the Chair’s public praise for specific, controversial decisions was “particularly inappropriate” and capable of eroding the progress made in rebuilding confidence in ACP’s institutional neutrality.
An ACP spokesperson confirmed to the Connacht Tribune that it had received a complaint but declined to comment.
“An Coimisiún Pleanála’s Chief Executive Officer confirms receipt of the Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) correspondence dated 13 June 2026. Section 502 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 sets out a statutory process to be followed on receipt of complaints. Given that this process is underway, we will not comment further at this time,” the spokesperson said.
FIE called for “a prompt, transparent investigation” of the Chair’s comments.