County Council planning fee structure needs changes

Ireland and the Meath economy are in a deep recession. We have been for the past four years and, under this government's austerity policies, will likely remain so for some years to come. Unemployment in Meath is in line with State-wide unemployment and stands at over 14.6 per cent. On a weekly basis, hundreds of our best educated and enterprenerial people emigrate. The haemorraging of this talent is a major loss to their families, the country's future and an added loss of the huge investment Irish taxpayers invested in educating them. But many remain optimistic, entrepreneurial people who have an idea and wish to start their own business, to make a life for themselves and their families here in Meath. We should be supporting them. Meath County Council, as a local authority, is legally charged with being a planning authority and, what is not widely understood, a development agency. It shoulders the responsibility for supporting and promoting local business initiatives through its planning office and its department of economic development and innovation. Recent governmental changes will now see the County Enterprise Board incorporated back into Meath County Council this coming year. As a local authority and development agency, Meath County Council has reduced resources but has a wealth of talent within its organisation; talent capable of meeting the challenges of the present and coming decade. In a deep recession such as we are living through at present, it often falls to local government structures to help drive and support the local economy. Excellent examples of this can be seen throughout the county, such as the Navan Enterprise Centre, with over 40 businesses under its roof and employing over 220 people. Others are the construction of public facilities, such as community centres, swimming pools, parks, libraries, play areas and business parks throughout County Meath. Add to this the millions spent in the local economy through the council's annual works programmes and it can be easily seen how the local council is a major player which creates and sustains jobs and an economic environment for other people to do business in. Working with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, attracting companies to Ireland is part of Meath County Council's development remit and vitally important to Meath and its economic development. The development of indigenous industries is absolutely core to our future wealth, skills and jobs. The development of indigenous industries, in turn, funds our public services for the benefit of all our citizens. Therefore, encouraging, supporting and removing barriers to people wishing to start their own business in Meath must be the business of the local development agency, Meath County Council. In the so-called 'boom years', the planning and development fees attached to planning applications, while controversial, were central to Meath County Council providing the physical and social infrastructure in our towns and villages. Times have changed. The planning and development fees, as presently set, are now so high as to be a bar to business development and employment. The fees applied to a person wishing to start a small business and provide jobs is now prohibitive and, from a Meath County Council point of view, self-defeating. The fees charged are out of sync in today's economic world and require revision as a matter of urgency. It is the responsibility of the county manager and Meath County Councillors to review the fee structure and to make whatever changes are considered necessary. I don't have a problem with planning and development fees, per se. I am conscious, as a local representative, of the financial challenges and responsibilities facing Meath County Council. But the level of fees have to be fair, realistic and support development and employment, not act as a bar or brake to it, as I now believe to be the case. One particular section of the planning and development fees structure I feel must be changed is the 'change of use' part. This fee applies when a building is designated for a particular use and requires change to another use. In the last number of months, I have have been contacted by people wishing to start up their own business. Having contacted the local authority/planning department, they were informed that the development fees for a 'change of use' would be in the range of €40,000, and in another case, €80,000. This is not realistic in today economic environment. These costs are absolutely prohibitive, unfair and a block against development and employment. These 'change of use' fees should be abolished forthwith and replaced with a small administration fee.   It is time to grasp this particular nettle. The planning and economic strategic policy committee (SPC) of Meath County Council, of which I am a member, could, in a matter of months and with sufficient political will, bring forward proposals to Meath County Council for the adoption and implementation of a new fee structure. The issue of planning fees on new constructions and 'change of use' could be changed to meet the new realities and act as a stimulus to the local economy and employment opportunities. Cllr Joe Reilly is a Sinn Fein member of Meath County Council.