It has emerged that the headquarters of An Bord Pleanala is subject to an upward-only rent review. The Board headquarters on Marlborough Street in Dublin are rented for a fee of €1.25 million per year.

The Planning Minister Jan O'Sullivan has confirmed to the Dáil that the 25-year lease for the building, signed in 2002, only allows for up-ward revisions in rent.

An Bord Pleanála entered into a 25-year lease in January 2002. The rent during the period up to the first review was just over €1.108 million.

The terms of the lease provide for rent reviews every five years.

The Minister said that "a further rent review was due on January 22nd 2012 - and a verbal agreement was reached between the landlord and the Board that a rent review for that next five year period would not be undertaken".

The rent has therefore remained at €1.25 million.

However she says the rent has not been increased since 2007 and that the landlord has agreed not to review the rent again until 2017.