Clare's levy scheme sees walkout by councillors

Clare's County Manager yesterday intervened to avert Clare Co Council defaulting in implementing the Development Levy Scheme.

Mr Alec Fleming took the unilateral move to order that the Council formally advertise the scheme in a bid to meet the deadline of having the scheme adopted by next March.

The move by Mr Fleming at the council's November meeting precipitated a walkout when Fine Gael and independent members left the chamber in protest at the Mayor, Mr Patrick O'Gorman (FF), refusing to take a vote on the issue.

Since coming before the Council last month, the scheme has come under sustained attack in response to the Council executive proposing to impose a 300 per cent rise in levies on new homes, where, in some instances, new home owners would be required to pay an €11,950 levy on homes in unzoned land and €9,560 on new houses on zoned land.

The scheme is needed to generate €67 million for improving infrastructure throughout the county to 2009, which will be raised from imposing levies on the 4,500 houses that will be built in Clare before that date.

The Planning and Development 2000 Act lays down that if the Council does not agree on a levy scheme by March 14th next, it will have no funding to put in place its infrastructural programme and will not be able to impose any levies attached to planning permissions.

The Government has been accused by council members of "blackmailing" the Council if they do not impose what Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) described yesterday as another "stealth tax" on the public.

At the third meeting on the issue, Mr Fleming said that he was taking the executive move to publish the draft scheme as there was no consensus amongst councillors on the issue.

Mr Fleming said if the scheme was not put in place by March, he would be held accountable by the Department of the Environment for the loss of funds.

The move by Mr Fleming provoked an angry response from the chamber.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said "this shows us that we have no power," while Fine Gael member, Cllr Paul Bugler said: "We are ceding an extremely important principle today if we publish the draft scheme."

Council Mayor, Mr Patrick O'Gorman, said there was no point in taking a vote as the manager was exercising an executive function and, no matter what way the Council voted, it could not prevent the scheme being published. In response, eight councillors, led by Deputy Pat Breen (FG) walked out of the meeting.

The scheme will be put on public display for six weeks before a report is prepared for councillors in the New Year on the submissions. The Council will then vote on what scale of charges it wishes to have.