Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 April 2012
814 Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he intends to exempt persons living on offshore islands not connected to the mainland by bridges from the household charge or from the new property tax, in view of the higher cost of living on islands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17982/12]
View answerThe Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 and the Local Government (Household Charge) Regulations 2012 provide the legislative basis for the household charge.
The Act places the household charge under the care and management of the local authorities, and application in particular circumstances is a matter for the relevant local authority. Interpretation of the legislation is a matter for legal advice in individual cases and ultimately a matter for the Courts.
Under the legislation, an owner of a residential property on the liability date of 1 January 2012 is liable to pay the household charge by 31 March 2012, unless otherwise exempted or entitled to claim a waiver.
The Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 provides for a number of exemptions and waivers from payment of the household charge.
The exemptions from payment of the household charge are—
Residential properties that are part of the trading stock of a business and have not been sold or been the source of any income since construction,
Residential property owned by a Minister of the Government, a housing authority or the Health Service Executive,
Voluntary and co-operative housing,
Residential property subject to commercial rates and wholly used as a dwelling,
Residential property owned by certain charities or discretionary trusts, and
Residential property which an owner has vacated due to long-term mental or physical infirmity (e.g. elderly person that has moved into a nursing home).
The waivers which apply concern—
Owners of residential property entitled to mortgage interest supplement, and
Owners of houses in certain unfinished housing estates.
The charge applies to residential property situated in the State. There are no specific exemptions or waivers in the legislation in respect of residential property situated on off-shore islands.
I have established an Inter-Departmental Group on Property Tax to consider the structures and modalities for an equitable valuation based property tax. The Group will complete its work and make recommendations to me shortly. Following consideration of the Group's recommendations, I will bring proposals to Government on the full property tax as soon as possible. It will then be a matter for the Government to decide on the structure and modalities of the full property tax.
815 Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of households that had registered for the household charge by Monday 26 March 2012 and in addition, of those registered, the number of households that have paid the household charge in part and in full. [17989/12]
View answer825 Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of persons who have registered to pay the household charge that have only paid instalments and not the full amount. [18155/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 815 and 825 together.
The Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 provides the legislative basis for the household charge. Under the Act, an owner of a residential property on the liability date of 1 January 2012 is liable to pay the household charge, unless otherwise exempted or entitled to claim a waiver. The household charge is on a self-assessment basis and it is a matter for an owner of a residential property on the liability date to determine if he/she has a liability and, if so, to declare that liability and pay the household charge.
I understand, from data provided by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), which is administering the household charge system on a shared service/agency basis for all county and city councils, that as of 26 March 2012, a total of 372,023 properties had been registered for payment of the household charge and 8,545 were registered for a waiver from payment of the household charge. Some 42,000 properties were registered for the instalment payment option.
I understand, from data provided by the LGMA, that as of 16 April, 2012, a total of 660,597 properties had been registered for payment of the household charge. Some 42,000 properties are availing of the instalment payment option.
In addition, 14,655 properties have been registered for a waiver from payment of the household charge. It is also estimated that there are some 228,500 registrations on hand to be processed, bringing the total number of registrations to over 903,000.
