HIGH DEVELOPMENT CHARGES COULD BE DISINCENTIVE TO INVESTMENT, MONAGHAN CO COUNCIL TOLD

13 April 2012 No Comments by The Northern Standard

The high rate of development charges operating in Co Monaghan for the construction of mobile telecommunications masts could be proving a disincentive to investment in the county, the April meeting of Monaghan Co Council was told.
Points of concern in relation to this aspect of development charges were raised during a discussion the members held with Claire Cunningham of the county’s IT Business Leaders Forum.
Ms Cunningham, who told the meeting that the Forum were holding a conference in May about exploring the benefits of information technology in Monaghan and were in the process of establishing a web forum to encourage businesses to invest in the county, pointed out that development charges in Monaghan were higher than anywhere else in relation to mobile telecommunications.
“The telecom companies are saying that, where they can help it, they are not investing in counties where development charges are excessively high,” she pointed out.
“This is a concern to us, because one of our areas of responsibility is to promote IT.”
Noting the need to have access to very good broadband infrastructure to attract companies into the county, Ms Cunningham said Monaghan Co Council had made a call last year to identify the black spots for broadband access in the county. She pointed out that 66 such black spots had been identified.
South Monaghan councillor P J O’Hanlon expressed the view that it was “rich” of the Co Council to be criticising organisations such as Enterprise Ireland for not attracting industry to the county when their own house was not in order. They now had to stand up and demonstrate how serious they were in relation to investment in the county, he believed.
“If development costs are a serious impediment to investment in the county, they have to …

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