The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
DEBTS owed to Clare County Council exceeded €28 million last September. This represents about 25% of the council’s expenditure of €110m for the next 12 months. The figure has prompted a call from Councillor Michael Hillery for Government to give more statutory powers to local authorities, to pursue people of good financial means who will not pay. For those who cannot afford to pay a bill upfront, Councillor Hillery noted at a council meeting on Monday, that the authority will work with debtors to discharge what they owe over a longer period of time. However, he believes the authority should be given powers akin to the Revenue Commissioners to legally pursue those who have money but refuse to pay. Describing the outstanding €17.4m rates bill as “worrying”, he hopes it will decline by the end of the year with the upturn in the economy. The debt includes €17.466m in outstanding commercial rates, €6.837m in development contributions, €1.806m in housing loans …
Read More »