Breen and Flynn to boycott household charge

MAYOR of Clare Pat Hayes is one of the 15 Clare County Councillors who still hasn’t paid the Government’s controversial €100 household charge less than three weeks before the official deadline, it emerged this week.

MAYOR of Clare Pat Hayes is one of the 15 Clare County Councillors who still hasn’t paid the Government’s controversial €100 household charge less than three weeks before the official deadline, it emerged this week.
However, two of the 15, Councillor James Breen and Shannon-based Independent councillor, Gerry Flynn, have vowed not to pay the charge while another Independent member, Michael Begley, is very reluctant to do so if, as expected, the receipts do not go directly to Clare County Council.
The other 13 councillors have pledged to pay the charge on or before the deadline.
Speaking with The Clare Champion, Councillors Breen and Flynn stopped short of advising people not to pay what they described as a “stealth tax”, stating it is up to individuals to make up their own minds on payment.
Four Fine Gael councillors, Tony Mulqueen, Joe Cooney, Pat Burke and Oliver Garry, haven’t paid the charge and they are joined by Independent councillors Christy Curtin, Michael Begley, Gerry Flynn and James Breen as well as the Fianna Fáil group of Michael Hillery, Pat Keane, PJ Ryan, Cathal Crowe, Michael Kelly and Pat Hayes.
Just over half of the 32 councillors, 17 in total, have paid the charge. They include Gabriel Keating, Johnny Flynn, Sonny Scanlan, Bill Slattery, Joe Arkins, Seán McLoughlin and John Crowe, all Fine Gael, as well as Fianna Fáil councillors, PJ Kelly, Bill Chambers, Tom McNamara, Pat Daly; Independent councillor, Tommy Brennan, Green Party councillor, Brian Meaney and Labour councillor, Pascal Fitzgerald.
Extensive efforts to contact Councillor Pat McMahon, who is believed to be abroad, proved unsuccessful.
Additionally, The Clare Champion has also learned that only 1,200 householders in the county that may be eligible for the charge have directly paid in cash at one of the council’s offices up to Wednesday.
While the percentage of the population who made payments by Wednesday was a paltry 12%, no official figures are available to quantify the number of Clare people who are paying the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) which is managing the charge. There are 55,800 houses in Clare, most of which will be eligible to pay the levy.
Head of Finance with Clare County Council, Niall Barrett told The Clare Champion nationally, about 80% of payments are bypassing local authorities and going directly to the central household charge unit in Dublin. He estimated the trend in Clare is probably in line with this.
While over €5 million could be raised in Clare if everyone eligible pays, this money will sent directly to the national exchequer before it is distributed into the Local Government Fund.
Councillor Breen claimed there would be no need to levy the household charge if the Government cut the number of councillors in half from 32 to 16, abolished strategic policy committees (SPCs), cut the number of Dáil deputies by 25% and slashed the number of, what he termed, expensive Government boards and “quangos”.
He pointed out a lot of low-income Clare families are struggling to put food on the table and simply have not got €100 to spare for this charge.
Councillor Gerry Flynn said he had provided application forms for people who wanted to make the payment but he vowed he would not be paying a cent.
“This is an unjust stealth tax. I have fought long and hard to pay for my house and I don’t think the Government should be trying to squeeze more money out of me.
“No one has sent me a bill to pay this household charge. I pay my ESB when I get a bill. Anyone I owe money to sends me a bill and I pay it. The income from this charge will not benefit Clare County Council. For every euro collected in Clare, another euro will be taken out of the Local Government Fund. What are we going to get for paying this tax?” he questioned.
Mayor of Clare Pat Hayes proposed the March 31 deadline should be extended by three months. This was supported by Councillors Pat Daly and Tommy Brennan, while Councillors Joe Cooney and Pat Burke felt it should be put back at least by one month. Councillor Fitzgerald suggested people should be allowed the latitude of paying it within 2012.
Mayor Hayes stressed a lot of householders do not have the money to pay the household charge at this time. He also explained a lot of people were not aware payments could be made direct debit on a phased basis. House owners had up until midnight on February 29 to register for payment by this method. A number of councillors also suggested more flexible payment options should be introduced, while most of them agreed the absence of a bill or invoice is causing difficulties, as some people believe they are not eligible once they didn’t receive any written notice.
Councillor Michael Begley confirmed he wasn’t “in any great rush to pay it” and would be even more reluctant to do so if it transpired there was no net direct income benefit to Clare County Council.
Stressing he was not recommending that people should not pay the charge, he admitted he would probably end up complying with the law over the coming weeks.
Almost all the councillors described the charge as “unfair and inequitable” because it didn’t take into account ability to pay or the size of a dwelling and regarded it as a burden on middle-income families, who were being forced to pay a plethora of new levies and taxes.
Councillor Tom McNamara admitted he had reluctantly paid the charge even though he didn’t have the benefit of a public footpath, public lighting, public water or sewerage, despite living about 100m from his local post office.
Meanwhile, Councillor Johnny Flynn disagreed with people advising householders to break the law. He, like some of his Fine Gael colleagues, stressed a contribution had to be taken to deal with the deterioration in the national finances.
However, he agreed more flexible methods of payments should be arranged through the post office to facilitate people on low incomes.
Councillors Cathal Crowe and Pascal Fitzgerald complained that hundreds of people in South-East Clare were expected to pay, despite the fact their housing estate wasn’t taken in charge by the council. They agreed people would find it easier to pay if they saw they were directly benefiting from local authority services.
Councillor Richard Nagle complained that the same group of low and middle-income families were being forced to pay income tax, the universal social charge, income levies and now the household charge.
“Government ministers have said it is only €2 a week. €2 a week isn’t a lot for Government ministers but it is a lot of money for people with huge mortgages who are struggling to make payments and meet the weekly household bills as well as trying to put food on the table. More flexibility needs to be shown for people experiencing severe financial stress,” he said.

Councillor Michael Begley confirmed he is not “in any great rush to pay it” and would be even more reluctant to do so if it transpired there will be no net direct income benefit to Clare County Council.
Stressing he is not recommending that people should not pay the charge, he admitted he would probably end up complying with the law over the coming weeks.
Almost all the councillors described the charge as “unfair and inequitable” as it does not take into account ability to pay or the size of a dwelling and regarded it as a burden on middle-income families, who are being forced to pay a plethora of new levies and taxes.
Councillor Tom McNamara admitted he had reluctantly paid the charge even though he didn’t have the benefit of a public footpath, public lighting, public water or sewerage, despite living about 100m from his local post office.
Meanwhile, Councillor Johnny Flynn disagreed with people advising householders to break the law. He, like some of his Fine Gael colleagues, stressed a contribution has to be given to deal with the deterioration in the national finances.
However, he agreed more flexible methods of payments should be arranged through the post office to facilitate people on low incomes.
Councillors Cathal Crowe and Pascal Fitzgerald complained that hundreds of people in South-East Clare are expected to pay, despite the fact their housing estate is not taken in charge by the council. They agreed people would find it easier to pay if they could they are directly benefiting from local authority services.
Councillor Richard Nagle complained that the same group of low and middle-income families are being forced to pay income tax, the universal social charge, income levies and now the household charge.
“Government ministers have said it is only €2 a week. €2 a week isn’t a lot for Government ministers but it is a lot of money for people with huge mortgages who are struggling to make payments and meet the weekly household bills, as well as trying to put food on the table. More flexibility needs to be shown for people experiencing severe financial stress,” he said.