Councillor Frank Durcan (aka. 'The Maggot') has sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions alleging 'fraud and collusion' in local authorities in Co. Mayo. Now we all know that, unfortunately dodgy dealings are a fact of life amongst planning authories in Ireland, so it's good to see someone within the system take action to expose it. However, I have to question Cllr. Durcans motives or agenda here. Apparently he indicated that "house prices had risen by 100 per cent during the past twelve months due to overpricing by contractors and a shortfall in land being provided by local authorities to develop property". Assuming he's referring to Castlebar, my understanding is that the housing shortage has arisen because the council is not authorising any new housing developments until the town sewerage scheme which is currently extremely overloaded has been extended. Stating that prices have increased by 100% is a bit of an exageration though - but since Cllr. Durcan's runs one of the larger auctioneering businesses in the town, maybe he knows better than I do.