Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will now move to amendment No. 1145, which seeks to provide that all planning fees, including the fee for making a submission, should be commensurate with the complexity of administration and professional planning services provided by the planning authority staff. I cannot accept this amendment as there are a number of factors that would be contrary to this proposal. Currently, there are fee waivers in place to provide that the fee for making a submission or observation to a planning authority in respect of a planning application shall not be payable by a member of a local authority acting in his or her capacity as a member. This would conflict with this provision. Furthermore, public participation is an important element of all substantive decision-making processes under the Bill and is also a requirement under the UN Aarhus Convention. The fees payable by members of the public to participate in the planning decision-making process are usually set at a level that contributes towards the cost of processing applications and appeals while not creating a barrier to public participation. As such, I oppose amendment No. 1145.