Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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133. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the status regarding expenditure of the development contributions paid to local authorities; the amounts which remain on the balance sheet in respect of development contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17344/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Development contributions allow local authorities to recoup some of the costs to public funds of servicing land for private development . They provide a mechanism by which developers can contribute to the cost of providing public infrastructure and facilities that benefit development in the area and are expended on public infrastructure defined under the Planning Acts. These include the provision of open spaces, recreational and community facilities, roads, sewers, waste-water and water treatment facilities, drains and water mains, public transport, schools, school sites, broadband and flood relief works. The adoption of these schemes is a reserved function of the locally elected members of each planning authority. It is a matter for the members to determine (i) the level of contribution and the types of development to which they will apply and (ii) the expenditure of contributions within the confines of their scheme-conditions.

Arising from the Government’s effort to meet commitments in relation to the general government deficit limit, the local government sector’s impact on the General Government Balance (GGB) is currently required to deliver a neutral position each year. The precise manner in which capital and current accounts are managed in order to achieve the overall balance necessary is a matter for individual local authorities themselves. However, within these overall limits, there is additional capacity for new non-mortgage borrowing and the expenditure of capital balances on hand by local authorities, which must be sanctioned by my Department. In reviewing requests for sanction, consideration is given to ensuring that priority infrastructural investment can proceed; that contractual commitments and on-going projects can proceed; and that development contributions already collected and aligned to specific capital projects can be utilised efficiently. 

Local authorities are obliged to include data on current and long-term development contribution debtors in their Annual Financial Statements. As the audited figures for 2015 are not yet available, figures from the audited Annual Financial Statements for 2014 are set out in the following table.

Current debtors are debts due within a year and are shown before any adjustment for bad debt provisions in the Annual Financial Statements. Total bad debt provisions for all current debtors are reported within the notes to the Annual Financial Statements but do not separately identify the portion relating to current development contribution debtors. Long term debtors are debts due in respect of periods greater than one year. Long-term development contribution debtors are matched in the Annual Financial Statement by deferred income. This acknowledges that the debts of long term debtors are not income in the current period, and are thus deferred to future periods and may or may not become due depending on the progress of the development.

It should be noted that local authorities operate on an accrual accounting basis and therefore recognise income as earned/billed and not just as cash received. Audited data in relation to 2015 should be available later this year.

Development Levy Debtors as at 31 December 2014

* Current Development Levy Debtors – Source: audited local authority Annual Financial Statements 2014, Note 5

** Long Term Development Levy Debtors - Source: audited local authority Annual Financial Statements 2014, Note 3.