Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 January 2012
449 Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will clarify, in the case of an elderly parent who resides in a house which has been signed over to a son or daughter, which person is liable for the household charge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5161/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 gives effect to the €100 household charge.
The Act defines "owner" at section 1. Where a property is transferred to an individual and a right of residence is retained by the transferor, my Department has been advised that liability to pay the household charge depends on whether the right of residence is exclusive. 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.
450 Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will consider reviewing a decision made by him to exempt the final phase of an estate (details supplied) in County Cork from the household charge while leaving the remainder of the estate liable to pay the fee; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that neighbouring estates in similar unfinished states are exempt from the charge in their totality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5165/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of the process of preparing the National Housing Development Survey 2011, launched by my Department in October 2011, local authorities provided details of all unfinished housing developments in their areas. Unfinished housing developments were divided into four categories as follows:
Category one, where the development is still being actively completed by the developer, or where no serious public safety issues exist;
Category two, where a receiver has been appointed;
Category three, where a receiver has not been appointed and the developer is still in place but effectively inactive; and
Category four, where the development has been effectively abandoned and is posing serious problems for residents.
Other relevant factors for the purposes of the categorization process include, inter alia:
the state of completion of roads, footpaths, public lighting facilities, piped water and sewerage facilities and open spaces or similar amenities within the development;
the extent to which the development complies with the terms of applicable planning permission;
the extent to which it complies with the provisions of the Building Control Acts 1990 and 2007;
the provisions of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964 as they pertain to dangerous places and dangerous structures within the meaning of the Act;
the extent to which facilities within the development have been taken in charge by the local authority concerned and
where there is an agreement regarding the maintenance of such facilities, the extent to which this agreement has been complied with.
In some cases a local authority may have found that conditions in respect of a certain phase of a development were relatively good and that, for example, no serious public safety issues could be identified. This phase of the development may have been categorized under category 1 or 2. Conversely, safety issues may have been identified in another phase of the same overall development, or development in that second phase may have been abandoned altogether, implying a category 3 or 4 identification for that phase.
This categorisation formed the basis for the list of those unfinished developments eligible for a waiver on the annual household charge.
