Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 797: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if it is normal or standard practise for local authorities to levy a €20 charge on public representatives when making representations on individual planning files; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22250/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Section 33(2)(c) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 makes provision for persons to make submissions or observations on a planning application on payment of the prescribed fee and within the prescribed period. Article 29 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 fixed this prescribed fee at €20 and the prescribed period at five weeks beginning on the date of receipt of the planning application by the planning authority. In the guidance notes on the regulations, my Department clarified that certain types of enquiry or correspondence by elected members of a local authority on planning cases should not be regarded as the making of a submission or observation within the framework described above. Such inquiries could be inquiries on the status of a planning application or requests to speed up the processing of an application or correspondence supporting an application or a resubmission by an observer in general terms without elaborating on grounds.

Where a public representative makes a formal submission which elaborates on the grounds of an application or an objection or on a submission by an observer or raises a substantive new issue, the submission cannot be considered by the planning authority unless it is accompanied by the appropriate €20 fee. It is a matter for individual local authorities to put in place arrangements to implement the above.