Developers should contribute more towards the cost of local amenities, the Irish Institute of Planning (IPI) urged today.

At the National Planning Conference in Westport, Co Mayo the IPI called for an urgent revision of the system of contributions, given towards public facilities and infrastructure.

IPI President Andrew Hind said that while the combined effect of Ireland's planning and taxation systems has made builders and landowners very wealthy, many developments still lack basic social and physical infrastructure.

He said: "The problem we face today is that in most local authorities the revenue arising from development contributions is nothing like enough to pay for the level of infrastructure spending required in the area.

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"In many ways the problem is a simple one: developers and landowners are not paying a large enough share of the cost of properly servicing their development with social as well as physical infrastructure.

"To cope with our growing population developers should be required to pay more towards the cost of providing schools, public water and sewage facilities, roads and footpaths and public transport infrastructure," Mr Hind added.

However, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) hit back at the calls, accusing the IPI of not understanding the pressures facing developers in the current climate. He also said that the slowdown in the housing market is threatening local authority revenues.

"It is obvious that this threat is the motivation for the IPI’s call for increased development contributions. Increasing development charges now will only further reduce development activity," he said.

(VB/JM)