Local authorities under fire over ‘excessive’ development plan costs
A Meath councillor has said the €175 fee for a hard copy of the new draft county development plan is “putting it out of the reach of ordinary hard-working families”.
The fee is more than that charged by a number of other local authorities, but pales in comparison to its Dublin neighbour, Fingal County Council, which demands €800 for the full text of its development plan with maps.
The cost has been defended by Meath County Council as reasonable given the cost of printing.
A random survey of several councils revealed that Monaghan County Council, which is currently in public consultation on its new county plan, is offering to post a copy for free to anyone who wants it.
In both Cork City and Clare the hard copy is €50, in Limerick City it costs €100 while in Sligo it is €45.
“The price charged by Meath County Council is far too high, particularly as we are trying to get public engagement on the plan,” said Labour councillor Dominic Hannigan.
“At this cost, the only people who will be in a position to buy it are development corporations,” he added. Cllr Hannigan is concerned that the only people with the money to pay for it are those who stand to make money from future development in the county.
While development plans are also available to view on each of the local authorities’ websites free of charge, he said this was insufficient.
“With something like this, you need to be able to sit down and flick through it to get a feel for it. It must be one of the most expensive plans to buy and I feel it really is excessive,” he added.
A spokeswoman for Meath County Council said: “The county council has applied the charge, which is less than that applicable to the previous plan, with the costs based on reasonable cost of production/copy.”
The fees being charged to the public for hard copies of county development master plans:
Meath County Council: €175.
Limerick City Council: €100.
Cork City Council: €50.
Clare County Council: €50.
Fingal County Council: Maps €50 each and €800 for an all-inclusive hard copy.
