Government set to hand over responsibility for collecting foreshore rents

MINISTERS are to finally end the scandal of non-payment of rents for leasing the country’s coastline which is costing taxpayers millions of euro a year.

The Government is expected to hand over responsibility for collecting foreshore licence payments from the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to local authorities later this year after financial watchdogs sparked concern over the scale of lost revenue.

The State is losing €5 million a year in levies due to lax enforcement of rents, according to some TDs. The issue is set to spark controversy in the Dáil today as the powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC) considers a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General which raised the alarm over the lost money.

Fine Gael Waterford TD John Deasy insisted the system had “broken down” and that reform was long overdue.

The licences cover the use of land and seabed between the line of high water of medium tides and the 12-mile territorial sea limits, tidal rivers and estuaries.

Of 186 rents scheduled to be reviewed between 2001 and 2003, just 18 were completed. The rent value of these increased from €150,000 to €495,000 - giving an indication of the revenue being lost by not updating the other rents scheduled.

The C&AG’s report found that even if rents have been increased, it does not mean they are forthcoming.

“Many clients simply continue to pay at the old rate, or refuse to pay at all.

“It appears the department does not pursue an enforcement policy in the case of clients who do not accept revised valuations.”

Mr Deasy said: “The whole system has broken down. A move towards local authorities will not only generate millions of euro a year, it will speed up the planning process in these areas as well.”

The Greens also demanded an overhaul of a system which covers 1,384 licenses and leases. “The level of compliance is very low, so it seems people can just do whatever they want and nothing happens to them,” Green TD Dan Boyle said.

A spokesman for the marine department insisted that the Government was “committed” to rents being collected.