Mr. Des Dowling:

I appreciate that is an irritation for people. It is a side effect of a combination of things. First, the State has not had the database available to it. While people have dealings with a variety of organisations, the State has not had a property tax system and, therefore, does not have a robust single database of names and addresses. The question is how we can get that. What has sometimes happened where people have received these letters is that the address with another organisation, such as the Property Registration Authority, has been slightly different. The local authority, therefore, cannot assume that is the same address or person as is on the "paid" list. This is a source of irritation for people who have paid. In the national interest and for the benefit of the country as a whole, we ask that people bear with us as the State builds this address database.