Development levies in some local authorities are being increased by anything up to 300%. Currently, development charges attached to planning applications can be appealed to An Bord Pleanála but there is no appeal procedure in place to allow developers or house purchasers to challenge the charges being imposed by local authorities. Local authority charges are an off-shoot of inadequate Government funding for local authorities and follow such stealth taxes as bin charges, parking rates and water charges on business and farmers. Owners of homes in the countryside face bills of up to €600 every two years to provide certification that their septic tanks have been emptied by a proper contractor. That is something on which the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, has spoken in detail in recent times.