Planning authorities fee gets approved

IRISH planning authorities can continue to charge an administrative fee for making a submission on planning applications and appeals involving environmental impact assessments, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

The European Commission referred the issue to the court after they received complaints that the fee of €20 for submissions to a local authority and €45 for submissions to An Bord Pleanála was hindering people from taking part in the planning process.

The decision was welcomed by environment minister Dick Roche who said it was recognition of the strength of the legal arguments put forward by Ireland to the court in Luxembourg.

The court found that because the fee was low it did not prevent people taking part in the planning procedure. “It cannot be regarded as constituting such an obstacle to the effectiveness of the Directive.”

Mr Roche said: “The level of consultation and public participation under the Irish planning code is without parallel in the rest of the EU, and today’s ruling is a recognition of that fact.”