Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

The Government has decided that the household charge will apply to properties in this group and has, furthermore, decided to remove the non-principal private residence exemption with effect from 2012. Linked to this is the exemption for properties leased to the HSE, which will fall to be treated in the same way as RAS.

The Bill also amends the Local Government (Charges) Act 2009 to provide for a €10 charge on over-the-counter transactions in respect of the NPPR. Initial take-up of the online payment option was encouraging, with 85% of users choosing to pay online in October 2009. By December 2010, this figure had fallen to 59%. Over-the-counter payments are resource heavy for local authorities and it is considered that this should be reflected in an additional charge if somebody chooses to use an administratively expensive payment option when others are available.

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