€106m in Development Fees Owed to Dublin City Council
Figures give a worrying insight into lack of controls in place in local authorities under Fianna Fail
It is with great disappointment that I read the figures concerning development fees owed to Dublin City Council. I am concerned to see that more than €75 million of outstanding levies have now been classified as ‘long-term’. It seems clear that these levies were due some years ago and have never been recouped by Dublin City Council. Given that development levies are meant to be paid upfront before any development commences, it is very disappointing to see that Dublin City Council has got itself into this position. These figures give an insight into the lack of controls in place in local authorities under Fianna Fail and underscore once again how much of a mess we have ahead of us to fix.
I must register my disappointment that it has taken so long for these figures to come to light, and commend Deputy Simon Harris for submitting the question and finding out the level of mismanagement that has taken place in our local authorities both in Dublin and across the country under Fianna Fail.
Many taxpayers will rightly be frustrated by this relaxed approach towards big business and construction fees relative to the very proactive approach shown towards small local businesses.
I expect Dublin City Council to provide the taxpayers with more information on these outstanding fees so we can have a realistic calculation of how much we actually expect to receive and when. Given that 41 other councils across the country have no long-term outstanding fees, yet Dublin has €75m, answers should be given and transparency should be shown.
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