Household charge compliance up to 65%

THE level of compliance with the household charge has increased this month in Clare and the county council is hopeful the trend will continue.

In April, the collection rate for the charge in the county was 36% and increased to 54% in the next two months. At the start of this month it was at 62% and by Tuesday, the figure had risen to 65%, the council’s acting head of finance, Eddie Power, confirmed.
All owners of residential property in Ireland are liable for the charge, which the Government says will be used to fund the services being provided by local authorities.

Early in the third quarter of the year, Clare County Council found that some €243,000 of the funds it had expected to receive was being withheld, due to the lower-than-expected level of compliance with the charge.
A special meeting of the local authority was held, at which Deputies Pat Breen and Joe Carey gave assurances that the money would be paid at a later date, subject to a compliance level in the county of 70-75%.

Mr Power said the council is in the process of compiling a list of those who still have not paid. “We’ve a database of those who have paid. There’s work being done at present on creating a database of those who haven’t paid and we’ll be able to follow them up.”
He said the council is working with information from the Property Registration Authority to help compile their list.

The acting head of finance said letters have already been sent to some householders. “Letters have been issued and further ones will go out. We’re getting a response obviously and we’re highlighting that there’s a penalty of an interest payment and a late payment fee, which increases as time goes on. We also want to emphasise that an outstanding household charge will have an impact on the transfer or sale of the property. If the charge is unpaid this year, it will be followed up on if the Revenue Commissioners take over next year. It won’t be forgotten.”
Penalties are applied for each month that the charge remains unpaid and currently the charge is 15% higher, as a result of late payment fees. It will be 30% by the end of the year and will rise further thereafter.

Advertisements have been placed in the local media, he said, while services to the public could be hit if compliance levels don’t improve. “We have to respond and if there’s a shortfall in the Local Government Fund, it may well have an impact on the level of services provided down the line.”
While the council has come under a lot of financial pressure, it is not running an overdraft, Mr Power claimed. “We’re not in overdraft at the minute. We have an overdraft facility of €15 million, which is a contingency. If we have to avail of an overdraft, obviously there’s a cost in interest to the council.”