Sunday Business Post*

Sunday, 17 August 2014

Page: 6
Circulation: 34322
Area of Clip: 26200mm
Page 1 of 1
Councils still levying boom
-time era charges
BY MICHAEL BRENNAN
POLITICAL
CORRESPONDENT
Almost half of councils in
the country are holding onto
boom-time era development
charges despite orders to cut
them to boost housebuilding
activity.
The income of the councils
from charges for providing
roads, car parking, parks and
landscaping for new development
had dwindled to a trickle
due to the property crash.
The aim of the governments
policy was to kickstart the
development of sustainable
housing by cutting development
charges by up to 66 per
cent in designated areas.
But just 17 out of 31 councils
have cut their development
charges since the policy was
launched 18 months ago.
As a result, the Department
of Environment is going
to issue reminder letters
in the coming months to the
14 councils who so far have
not complied with the policy
Ihe councils include those
in Mayo, Donegal, Kildare,
Kerry, Galway, Roscommon,
Sligo, Carlow, Donegal, Kerry,
Kilkenny and Leitrim. All
of them have old policies on
development charges, dating
back several years.
Construction Industry Federation
director general Tom
Parlon expressed concern at
the fact that so many councils
had failed to reduce their
charges.
Some of these local authorities
are still pitching
their development charges
at boom-time levels. That is
a cost the industry can not
When the government
launched its policy to cut
development charges, it
promised that it would prioritise
jobs, investment and
sustainable development.
It included the measures in
its Action Plan for Jobs in
attempt to force councils to
take action.
But Parlon said the delay
in reducing the charges were
preventing builders from
delivering sufficient housing
around the country
Unless these local authorities
reduce their development
levies to more manageable
levels, they will continue to
discourage house building in
their areas, he said.
Councils used to include the
cost of providing water services
in their development
charges, but this funding is
now going to Irish Water.
The Department of Environment
was able to supply
details of 14 of the 17 councils
who have reduced their development
charges to boost
building.
They include all four local
authorities in Dublin who
have collectively cut their
charges on new homes and
new commercial buildings by
26 per cent
This has reduced the development
charge on a new
house in Dun Laoghaire from
15,000 to 11,000.
The other councils include
Cork city, Cavan, Clare, Laois,
Longford, Meath, Monaghan,
Offaly, Westmeath and Wexford.
A Department of Environment
spokesman said some
councils already had low
development charges and
considered that there was
Utile scope for any further
reduction. He also said that
the reviews of the charges had
been delayed in some councils
which were amalgamating,
such as those in Limerick and
Waterford.
Further research has confirmed
that development
charges were cut by the two
councils in Tipperary before
they were merged into one
authority last June, while
the newly merged Waterford
council has drawn up a draft
plan.