The Irish House Builders' Association (IHBA) today called on the Government to appoint a regulator to monitor the introduction of development levies proposed by local authorities.
The call comes as councils across the State debate the introduction of a new charge on developers to fund roads, drainage, parks and community centres.
Critics of the levy say the move will add several thousand euro to the cost of a newly built house.
The IHBA says the levies will add between €12,000 and €20,000, or up to 5 per cent, to the price of new houses.
The group says the levies will put a huge additional burden on people buying new homes. "These new levies will hit first time buyers of new homes, particularly hard," it says.
Yesterday the Minister for Environment, Mr Cullen, defended the imposition of the levies, saying there was nothing new in the housing charges, which paid for local authority infrastructure.
Mr Cullen described as "absolute nonsense" claims that the levies would add €28,000 to the cost of a new 200-square-metre home in certain counties.
"These are just figures that have been plucked out of the sky and being extrapolated to take extreme possibilities," the Minister said.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, also defended the levies, telling the Dáil they were "an advance in social thinking and should be welcomed".
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