Jurečka wants to have the building permit process functioning reasonably within weeks

Prague - Deputy Prime Minister Marian Jurečka, appointed to lead the Ministry for Regional Development (MMR), wants to have a digitalized building permit process functioning in a reasonable form within weeks. He will strengthen the team working on the system and will regularly communicate with users of the system at building authorities. Jurečka, who took over at MMR after the dismissal of Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) due to mishandled digitalization of the building permit process, said this to journalists today.

"My task is to set up the department so that it is able to take specific steps to enable us to launch and make the system functional for officials at building authorities. Our mission here is for MMR, as the main authority on this issue, to be capable of managing and organizing matters itself. This is related to the strengthening and completing of the team, which is an issue for the coming weeks," said Jurečka. According to him, Karel Trpkoš, the head of the information technology section from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which Jurečka leads as minister, will become the deputy responsible for the digitalization of the building permit process, including negotiations with suppliers.

Trpkoš described the plan for the next steps at a press conference. Within days, or at most a week, he wants to set up methodology and procedures in the digitalized system, in contact with building authorities, so that officials know how to work efficiently within it. Jurečka added that today’s video conference with staff from building authorities will initiate regular communication, and he wants to receive feedback from users of the system.

The possibility for officials to revert to using systems employed prior to digitalization should be available about two months after legislative adjustments, Trpkoš said. Jurečka anticipates that this proposal will be discussed in the Chamber of Deputies around October 21. It will then need to be considered by the Senate and signed by the president. The earlier Minister of Transport Martin Kupka (ODS), whom the government tasked with coordinating the digitalization of the building permit process, had previously spoken about reintroducing the option for officials to use older systems.

Improvements in the functioning of the digitalized building permit process are expected in two steps, according to Trpkoš. It will take 10 to 12 weeks to bring the system to a state that will allow officials to carry out processes efficiently within its possibilities. According to Jurečka, the funding for the system from the National Recovery Plan is not at risk, because after these 12 weeks it should be possible to present shortened deadlines in the building permit process to the European Commission. Trpkoš anticipates a fully functional digitalized building permit process within 12 to 18 months, and he expects to refine this estimate further.

The timelines for additional work will be derived from an analysis of the current state, according to Trpkoš, especially regarding the geoportal, which is currently not fully functional. "Preliminarily, and I stress very preliminarily, we would be happy to know whether we will be able to complete it (the geoportal) by the end of the year," he said.

Jurečka and Trpkoš view their tenure at MMR as a necessary time for stabilizing the digitalized building permit process until a designated minister takes over MMR. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) mentioned today that he wants clarity on the permanent filling of the position by the end of this week. The candidate will be proposed by the STAN movement, the Prime Minister confirmed. The Pirates left the government after Bartoš's dismissal.

The building permit process has been digitalized since July 1, and in its new form, it faces criticism from staff at building authorities, builders, local governments, and the opposition in the Chamber of Deputies. Representatives of building authorities previously told CTK that they welcome the return to earlier systems and consider it a correct step. They continue to handle old requests within it, and the system is, according to them, ready for the amendment of the building law. They still find work in the digitalized system, despite its adjustments, complicated and time-consuming.