Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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177. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when he or his Department was informed of changes to the developmental charges at local authority level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6212/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The charging of development contributions is intended to allow local authorities to recoup some of the costs to public funds of servicing land for private development. Without such contributions, this servicing would not proceed or the full cost would have to be borne by the taxpayer. Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, income from development levies must be ring-fenced to pay for facilities servicing new development, for example, for roads, footpaths, public lighting and open spaces.

Development contributions are levied by planning authorities on the basis of a development contribution scheme approved by the elected members which sets out how contributions are to be applied in their respective functional areas. The level of contribution, and the types of development to which development contributions should apply, is therefore determined at local authority level in accordance with the powers vested in elected members in this connection.

My Department issued statutory guidelines on development contributions to all planning authorities in January 2013. These guidelines emphasise the importance of promoting development through the application, where feasible, of reduced development contributions to facilitate development and promote economic activity and job creation in local areas. Further to the 2013 guidelines, 18 of the 31 local authorities have responded positively by adopting revised development contribution schemes - encompassing reduced charges – which have been notified to my Department subsequent to their adoption.