Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1417: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of the amount of development levies outstanding for each local authority over the past five years; the steps being taken to ensure payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34170/10]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1490: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of the development levies owing to each local authority for the past three years; if he will report on the help he is giving to those local authorities to recover monies outstanding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33033/10]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1417 and 1490 together.

I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 537 and 538 of 8 July 2010.

Each planning authority is required to include details of contributions received in that year, together with information on how the contributions have been expended, in the statutory annual accounts of the authority. A new requirement was introduced for the financial year 2008 to include details in the annual financial statement of all accrued uncollected levies due to the planning authority.

The total debtor's figures supplied by the Local Authorities to the end of year 2008 amounted to €499 million. Information on the amount of development contributions due to planning authorities to the end of year 2009 will be available in March 2011, following a full audit by the Local Government Audit Service during the audit cycle 2010-2011.

Under the Planning Acts, the role of the Minister is to provide the necessary statutory and policy framework within which individual development contribution schemes are adopted by each local authority. The adoption of individual development contribution schemes is a reserved function of the locally elected members of each planning authority. It is a matter for the members to determine the level of contribution and the types of development to which they will apply.

As with all local charges, the invoicing and collection of any outstanding development contributions is a matter for the local authority concerned to manage in the light of prevailing local circumstances and in accordance with normal accountancy procedures. Where any payments required in respect of development contributions are not settled, such payments may be pursued by the planning authority through the courts as a contract debt.