Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 May 2014
210. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the options open to a person (details supplied) in Dublin 11, to appeal or in any way request a review of the arrears charges that have been applied to his household charge demand as a result of a genuine misunderstanding about the application of the exemption criteria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21424/14]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that the record provided to it by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) in respect of the property in question indicated that the Household Charge (HHC) was not paid and that an exemption or waiver certificate had not issued.
Revenue is satisfied from its own review of the case that the person in question is the registered owner of the relevant property since prior to 2012 and is therefore liable for the HHC. While Section 4 of the Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 provides for exemptions from the HHC for some categories of properties, no such exemption applies in cases where a property was acquired prior to 2012 under the Local Authority Purchase Scheme and Revenue has no discretion in this regard.
However, notwithstanding the above, Revenue recognises that the person in question acted in good faith based on the information he received. Revenue has assured me that the LPT team will make direct contact with the person in the coming days to discuss the issue and agree a mutually satisfactory arrangement.
