What is a development contribution?

How it works in Ireland

Section 48 lets a council charge a contribution for public infrastructure that benefits development in its area. The council adopts a scheme, and it must apply the scheme’s rates to each permission. A rural one-off house usually pays the residential rate, which is a rate per square metre of floor area, or a flat sum for a house under a certain size. Some schemes give relief or reduce the rate for particular cases, so read the scheme rather than the headline.

The charge appears as a condition on your grant of permission. It is part of the cost of getting started, so add it to your budget when you cost the site. The amount for the same house can differ by thousands of euro between neighbouring counties, which is why we publish a comparison of what every council charges.

Between 25 April 2023 and 31 December 2024 a temporary national waiver removed section 48 charges for qualifying self-builds that commenced in that window. It excluded section 49 supplementary schemes, and extensions and renovations were never covered. If you had a waiver approval, the house must be finished by 31 December 2026, or the council can invoice you for the full amount waived. The Minister said on 1 October 2026 that no further extension was proposed.

If you did not start in the window, expect the charge to apply in full. Ask the council’s development contributions section for a figure for your own site before you set the budget.

A common mistake

Budgeting from last year’s headline rate. Schemes are replaced, often with new rates, and several counties have adopted new schemes for 2026. Check the scheme named in your grant, and whether any exemption or phasing applies.