Ms Geraldine Tallon:

We are also looking at the level of collection of rates for commercial water charges, housing loans and all the sources of income of local authorities. Ninety percent of rates were collected in 2008, 85% in 2009, 81% in 2010 and 78% in 2011. That shows a trend in terms of collectibility. There is considerable variation from authority to authority in terms of rates collection. The top performer in 2011 was Offaly, which collected 92% of its rates, while at the other end of the spectrum Donegal collected 57%.