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.