In April 2009 the Telecoms and Internet Federation (TIF), an industry divisional grouping of IBEC, made a submission to John Gormely, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government where it voiced operators’ concerns regarding development contributions charged by local authorities on telecommunications base stations.
The TIF made a number of recommendations to the Minister including a call for amendment of the current planning legislation to ensure nationwide consistency on the setting of development contributions and to eliminate repeat development contributions for retention applications.
Development contribution sums for telecoms infrastructure has spiraled out of control within the past two years, in particular as Local Development Plans and Development Contributions Schemes were updated across the country. The more extreme local authorities are levying penal contribution levies, for example on December 28th 2008 Carrickmacross Town Council signed into operation Contribution Scheme which imposes €50,000 in development contributions for new mast development plus an additional €20,000 per antenna added. This local authority is not on its own, Monaghan Town Council currently levy €54,480 per mast and €20,950 per antenna added, while North Tipperary County Council levy €20,000 per apparatus. The majority of remaining authorities have heaped significant increases in contribution levies on mobile operators over the period with the average contribution for those councils who required a specific telecommunications contribution through their plan was €11,517.53 (Source TIF 2009).
In the meantime the Minister’s department has drafted a Bill (Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009) to amend existing planning and development legislation. This Bill is presently going through the houses of the Oireachtas and will, when approved, amend planning legislation. Unfortunately, the proposed bill does not address any of the issues raised by the TIF with regard to the application and quantum of development contributions applicable to telecoms infrastructure.
We recommend that mobile industry leaders take immediate issue with the TIF to ascertain now if any scope exists to influence legislation before it is signed into law.
