Cullen ‘must suspend levies over court challenge’

ENVIRONMENT MINISTER Martin Cullen must suspend development levies throughout the country until a High Court challenge to their introduction in Dublin has been decided.

The call was made by Fine Gael’s environment spokesman Bernard Allen, who said the Construction Industry Federation’s (CIF) case against Dublin City Council would show up anomalies in the scheme, including the lack of an appeals mechanism and discrimination against buyers of new properties.

In the High Court yesterday, the CIF challenged measures requiring developers to make financial contributions to local authority infrastructure developments, including roads, parks and footpaths in the Dublin City Council area.