Increase in planning application fees

The Government is planning on raising fees for planning applications for houses and extensions by a staggering amount beginning next January (from the current €65 per new dwelling to, potentially, hundreds). The supposed justification for the fee increase is that we should be paying the actual cost for the time planners spend on processing planning applications. This is nonsense. If you want to find out more about the proposal as well as what I think about it, you might link to the following. http://www.garrymiley.com/2008/05/21/HowDoYouAllFeelAboutThePlanningFeeIncreases.aspx
The proposal has flown under the radar. It should be vigorously opposed.

well, lets wait for the draft legislation to be written up... becaus eto do this they will have to pass a new planning act...

the planning fee system is not designed 'to pay the real cost'... its designed so that the planning system is available to all......

Syd, check out the Department's 'discussion paper'.
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Planning/FileDownLoad,17072,en.pdf
If the they say it once, they say it a thousand times - they intend to increase planning fees and by multiples of the current levels. Their justification for the increased cost is the actual cost of processing applications based on time spent.