Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

Is the levy payable on commencement of the building or on the point of sale? A community gain levy of €1,000 applies to each planning permission for housing given after 20001 in the North Tipperary County Council area. This is a social, cultural and community fund, which is a good, but the collection of the money is not as simple as it might appear. Unless a person is employed to travel around the county checking the commencement of the building of houses, we will end up with less money than we should have. The fund is currently running at less than 50% of its potential maximum level. I asked this question because, in practice, we find that the collecting of the levy requires the employment of an officer. Is the levy collectable on commencement of building?