20 planning fee faces challenge

THE Government will face legal action if it does not stop charging people who wish to comment on applications for planning permission, the European Commission has said.

As part of the Planning Act 2000, the Government introduced a 20 fee payable by interested parties who commented on or objected to an application for planning permission. However, yesterday, the Commission said that the fee was not legal under European law and gave Ireland two months to comply. Failure to comply would mean that the Commission will take proceedings against Ireland in the European Court of Justice. The Commission acted following a complaint by Friends of the Irish Environment in 2000 on behalf of 68 community and environmental groups, including An Taisce.

The move was widely welcomed by a wide range of environmental organisations which had criticised the fees as a crude means of obstructing the rights of the public. A spokesperson for Friends of the Irish Environment welcomed the Commission's action and called on the Government to bring the Planning Act into line immediately and restore citizens' rights of participation in the planning process.

"As one of the groups involved in the original complaint, we certainly welcome this. The Government has no option now but to abolish the fee within two months or they will face legal action and the prospect of applications being challenged," said An Taisce's Ian Lumley. Mr Lumley said the then Environment Minister Noel Dempsey had used false arguments when introducing the measure two years ago which has been acknowledged by the Commission.

Green Party environment spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe criticised Mr Dempsey and accused the Government of favouring business.

"I can only imagine that there will be considerable egg on the face of Minister Noel Dempsey who introduced the charge against the wishes of grassroots groups. It is time that this Government stopped pandering to big business and started listening to the voices of the general public. This is a good day for democracy and for the environment," he said. Deputy Cuffe said the Government should refund anyone who had paid the fee and urged Environment Minister Martin Cullen to scrap the payment immediately, adding that planning applications could be at risk of review.

The Commission said the fee was contrary to the European Environmental Impact Assessment Directive and pointed out that Ireland was the only EU member State to charge as a precondition for considering the public's opinion in planning matters.

A spokesman for Mr Cullen said a Government response was being prepared as a matter of urgency and would be sent to the European Commission.