Clare County Council is struggling to cope with a deluge of planning applications from people who want to avoid the €11,950 levy on new homes which is expected to come into force next month.
The council's head of planning, Mr Ger Dollard, yesterday appealed for patience from the public in dealing the council's planning department.
He said that there were a substantial number of extra applications, generated by the panic associated with the Development Contribution Scheme.
The council's senior executive planner, Mr Gordon Daly, said the next two months would require six months' work, to deal with the applications.
He said staff were already working well in excess of normal working hours and warned that in the coming weeks the priority had to be dealing with the volume of applications received. "We ask for the co-operation of all in this situation," he said.
The council's effort to deal with the massive increase in applications yesterday coincided with a renewed attack on the levies scheme by a representative of the construction industry, Mr Brian McCarthy.
He said that the scheme would make business in the county less competitive.
"Industry is uncompetitive enough, and I would have serious concerns that this scheme would worsen the situation," he said.
Mr McCarthy's opposition to the scheme was echoed by a number of speakers at a meeting of Clare County Council, with Cllr P.J. Kelly (FF) claiming the plan was another form of taxation.
The 32-member council is expected to vote on the scheme at its monthly meeting next Monday.
