Development levies billed by Dublin City Council have risen from €8.2 million in the first quarter of 2004, to over €33 million in the first quarter of this year, it has emerged.
The levies represent an increase of about 400 per cent on last year.
According to Dublin City Council, the charges reflect increased construction activity in the city but also a new charging system introduced on January 1st, 2004, which a spokeswoman said was "just starting to kick in".
However, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) described the levies as an "additional tax", which is passed on to new home buyers in the form of an average €11,500 in additional costs.
The CIF has called on the city council to say exactly "where, when and how" the money is spent.
Spokesman Kevin Gilna said: "These are incredible statistics. In 2002 they raised a total of €8.6 million for the whole year. It is rising at a frightening rate".
City council spokeswoman Deirdre Ní Rathlaigh said the levies billed did not amount to the same as the levies received. For example, she said the actual amount of money received on foot of building work having started in the first quarter of 2004 was just €4.1 million. The figure for the first quarter of 2005 was €15.625 million.
While the figures did show a marked difference between what the city council billed during the period and what it received, the percentage increase year-on-year is still in the order of 400 per cent.
"We would put that down to the new charging system just starting to kick in," said the spokeswoman.
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