The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has condemned the introduction of a €100,000 fee for planning applications to An Bord Pleanála for major infrastructural projects of national importance.

Hubert Fitzpatrick, Director for the CIF said: "The State is advocating that the industry undertake specific projects, deemed to be of national and regional importance in order to achieve Government policy objectives. At the same time, it wants to push all of the costs of the planning application process onto the construction industry, at a time when the industry is experiencing significant cost pressures. This trend has already been evident in the way, for instance, development contributions have been implemented and in the new Government contracts for construction projects.

"The State is the intended beneficiary of these projects and should accordingly look to partner with the private sector, and be willing to at least share some of the costs associated with the public permissions phase of the development process.

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Mr Fitzpatrick also said that the risks involved in designing major infrastructural projects and preparing planning applications are seldom acknowledged, which is further added to the extremely high costs involved in these investments.

He said: "When a planning application is lodged there is no certainty of outcome for the project promoter. Arbitrarily adding another €100,000 to the cost of simply making the application shows little understanding of what it takes to bring projects to application stage and of the inherent risks throughout the pre-planning, planning and subsequent construction stages. There comes a point at which costs are so excessive that investors look to less risky investment opportunities, whether in Ireland or abroad.

"The introduction of these new fees reaffirms a belief that the industry is a cash cow, but does so at a time of increasing regulatory cost pressures on the industry in Ireland and at a time of great uncertainty.

The Federation is now calling on the Minister for Environment, John Gormley, to re-examine the proposal to increase these fees, due to its belief that the cost of doing business in Ireland is among one of the highest in the world.

The Director concluded: "There is also the very crucial issue of the correlation between fees and service. This announcement also increases the cost of making an appeal to An Bord Pleanála by 400% for developers compared with a 5% increase for the general public. This comes at a time of ongoing concerns by the industry as to the level of service and timeframes for decision by An Bord Pleanála."

Mr Fitzpatrick questioned if the the level and timeliness of the board’s service would be commensurate with the 400% increase in the cost of making an appeal.

(LC)