The Local Government Management Agency is administering the Household Charge system on a shared service/agency basis for all county and city councils. 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 or she has a liability and, if so, to declare that liability and pay the Charge.
There was no existing comprehensive database of residential properties and their owners within the State prior to the Household Charge being introduced. The collection of the Household Charge via self-assessment declaration provides for the collation of such information in relation to residential property and will be an essential component for implementing the Local Property Tax. Local authorities are continuing to identify undeclared properties through appropriate data sharing provisions, and significant efforts have been expended in matching self-declared information with other datasets and in refining the resulting data.
I understand that the addresses and names used in the batch of letters which have been issued by Local Authorities in recent weeks reminding people to pay the Household Charge have been based on a data matching exercise with the Property Registration Authority. I also understand that in excess of 500,000 letters have been issued on foot of this exercise. However, individual local authorities are also working to identify and contact liable owners who have yet to pay the Charge. As such, it is not possible to state the exact number of persons who have been contacted by the Agency and local authorities for non-payment of the Household Charge. Nor, in the absence of a comprehensive database of all liable properties and their payment status, is it possible to state the total volume of unpaid liabilities, including late payment fees and interest. The question of prosecutions is a matter for the relevant local authority; however, I understand that several legal actions are underway.
Question No. 110 answered with Question No. 97.
