Mr. John Spain:

We agree that further work must be done to improve the operation of the development contribution system. It is fundamentally a sound principle, but it has been in place for approximately ten years and we must review how it works in practice. There has been a review of the level at which development levies are set throughout the country and there are now lower levels, but many planning permissions were granted when the levels were higher and at levels which make development unviable. One of the provisions in the new planning Bill is that the new levels would apply retrospectively and we certainly support that. It must happen. It would enable planning permissions to be activated and help to deliver housing supply in the short term.

There must also be greater consistency throughout the country as there is considerable inconsistency, as the Deputy said. There must also be a more sophisticated approach to levies in terms of looking at different types of development more carefully. Many local authorities have a single levy for commercial development, for example. The ability to sustain such a levy is very different for a town centre retail scheme as opposed to a large floor plate industrial scheme.

Levies need to be more sophisticated and consider the types and locations of development. Levies should be applied and ring-fenced to provide the infrastructure and community and transport facilities they are designed to provide, not go into a general pool of expenditure. There should be very clear tracking between the levies collected and their expenditure on providing the infrastructure and community facilities they are designed to provide.