Development charges attacked
A delegation from the IFA raised the issue with Mr Riordan when it met him last week for talks.
IFA officials told the county manager it is not the norm in other counties for the council to charge development charges on agricultural buildings, when work is being carried out to comply with the Nitrates Regulations, in particular if productivity is not being increased as a result.
IFA Munster vice president Sean O’Leary, who led the deputation, said the county manager undertook to examine the issue, which is currently causing great upset to many farmers.
One of those affected is poultry farmer Kevin Ahern, Sheepwalk, Fermoy, Co Cork, who has erected a purpose-built building for effluent storage to comply with the Nitrates Regulations.
But a condition attaching to his grant of planning permission requires him to pay €18,630 in development charges to Cork County Council.
Mr Ahern said he was not expecting such a charge, as he understood any works carried out under the farm waste management scheme would be exempt from such levies.
He will get a 60% farm waste management scheme grant towards his building costs of nearly €100,000 — but development charges will cancel out about one third of the grant.
“I did everything that was required of me under the regulations and then I get penalised in this way,” he said, claiming that the poultry industry is going through a difficult enough time as it is without the imposition of such charges.
