8 March 2006

Environment

Planning Submission Fees

Ciarán Cuffe asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on waiving or reducing the fee for making planning submissions for those groups who may find the fee prohibitive.

Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche):

I am satisfied that the €20 fee for third party submissions or objections to planning applications does not represent a major barrier to any person who wishes to participate in the planning process. In this regard, it should be noted that the Indecon report on the Review of Local Government Financing calls for a move towards a planning system which operates at full economic cost recovery. I intend to undertake a study of the cost of the planning service later this year with a view to reviewing the fees regulations thereafter.