Mr. Dave Walsh:

For the majority of fees the board sets, as governed by section 144 of the Planning and Development Act, the board is permitted to set fees and propose them for the Minister to agree with or not. Every three years we need to review our fees. The most recent booklet on our system outlines all the fees. It was updated in April 2019 and it reflects the fact we introduced some new fees in respect of vacant site levies, which is a new process the board has. The majority of the fees we have set date back to approximately September 2011. Every two years - we are due another periodic review - we look at the fees, particularly in the context of consumer price index increases, and propose whether we suggest increases. I am sure we would all acknowledge that the tough times during and after the recession were not the time to be loading up. We want to ensure that the fees are kept at a level that encourages as many people as possible who wish to be involved in the process, either in making observations or appeals, to feel there is not a monetary block.

Fees for strategic infrastructure projects and strategic housing projects are set at a fairly high level and we get pretty much full cost recovery for those. We get the fee paid up front and, depending on the overall assessment of the application over its lifetime, we would either look for additional money or, in some cases, refund money that was not a cost incurred. Bad debts occur only in legal cases and there are very few. Where we identify costs that should be recouped, it is normally through that process that we try to chase down those debts and ensure we get value for money for the Exchequer and the organisation.