Development fee waiver issue for self-builders raised

by Jessica Thompson

Roscommon County Council has backed a motion from Cllr Emer Kelly seeking ministerial intervention after some self-builders who served commencement notices on time in 2024 were billed for development contributions because they didn’t also file a separate waiver form.

Cllr Kelly’s motion stated: “I am calling on Roscommon County Council to write to the Minister for Local Government to request that development fees be waived for all applicants who served a commencement notice prior to the required deadline in 2024.

“Some applicants served the notice within the required timeframe, but failed to submit the required waiver form, resulting in them receiving an invoice for development charges. Many applicants were unaware of the need to complete the form, despite meeting all other guidelines of the scheme,” she said.

Members voiced strong support, describing the outcome as unfair on applicants who had met the deadline for their commencement notice. There was agreement to circulate the call to other local authorities for backing.

In response, Director of Services Mark Keaveney clarified that the second form was required for national recoupment.

“The requirement to have the separate form put in is a requirement from the department as part of the funding scheme. The department won’t pay the local authority for the recoupment unless we have a second form,” he said.

Separately, councillors agreed to send an additional letter asking the Minister to re-introduce a wider rural waiver of development fees.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme