To ask the Minister for Infrastructure whether he will appoint Special Commissioners, under the powers of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, as a means of addressing the resourcing challenges within the Planning Appeals Commission.

I recognise the resourcing challenges of the Planning Appeals Commission and acknowledge that, under the Planning Act (NI) 2011, the Department of Infrastructure has powers to appoint independent persons to conduct certain matters such as hearings or examinations instead of the Commission. However, this is not necessarily a simple undertaking and I will be considering this issue with my officials in the coming weeks.