THERE MUST have been red faces recently in Meath County Council'splanning office after the appeals board ordered drastic cuts in a series of levies imposed on a brother of Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey. Dermot Dempsey, a solicitor in the village of Athboy, got permission to convert a commercial building into a small ground floor shop with a one-bed apartment overhead.

The retail unit was designed to occupy the same footprint except that it would extend an additional 3 metres into an adjoining yard.

For that privilege, the Meath planners set 23 conditions and demanded levies of €83,180 to cover services like sewerage, parking, community facilities, water and "social infrastructure". Now, Athboy, definitely needs that. Dempsey complained that most of the levies were "excessive" and the appeals board concurred, reducing the overall bill down to €44,495. Since he embarked on the expensive planning initiative, Dempsey has been elevated to the Court Servicewhere he serves as a district justice.