Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

It is just if they are owned by the corporate entity, the State or Government. Exemptions also include a housing authority or the Health Service Executive, voluntary and co-operative housing, residential property subject to commercial rates and wholly used as a dwelling, residential property owned by certain charities or discretionary trusts and residential property which an owner has vacated due to long-term mental or physical infirmity, for example, when an elderly person moves into a nursing home.

In addition to these exemptions, two important waivers apply in respect of the charge. The programme for Government commits to giving consideration, in the context of introducing a property tax, to the impact that such a tax would have on the number of households in mortgage distress. Households in receipt of mortgage interest supplement from the Department of Social Protection have therefore been excluded from the scope of the charge. Mortgage interest supplement provides short-term support to help eligible households pay mortgage interest payments. In excess of 18,000 households are expected to benefit from the waiver.

A waiver has also been provided for households in certain categories of unfinished housing estates. These housing estates have been listed in the Local Government (Household Charge) Regulations 2012 and were informed by local authority returns to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government from the 2011 national survey of unfinished housing estates. The Government's priority is to address the needs of those estates as quickly as possible but in the interim this waiver will benefit such residents as they work with other stakeholders in developing resolutions for problematic developments. The cost of the waiver will abate over time as the issues in these estates are resolved and property owners become liable for the charge. While I accept that the introduction of the household charge is an additional cost to households, the exemptions and waivers provided in the Act, added to the provisions for instalment payments, provide a reasonable response to those in particular need. I consider it important to reiterate to Members those households for which no liability for the charge arises. These include tenants in private rented accommodation, tenants in local authority housing, tenants in receipt of the supplementary welfare allowance rent supplement from the Department of Social Protection, households that are purchasing their homes under the shared ownership scheme where the local authorities in question still retain ownership stakes, tenants and-or those living in housing provided by voluntary and-or co-operative bodies, those living in housing vested in the HSE or a Minister, those home owners who have been forced to vacate their properties by reason of long-term mental or physical infirmity and are now living in properties that they do not themselves own, those households in receipt of mortgage interest supplement, home owners residing in certain unfinished housing estates and those residing in properties owned by charities or discretionary trusts. In all of these circumstances, the Act provides a reasonable level of protection for those in greatest need in our communities.

I understand the hardship that many people are facing. Collection of the charge is a matter for local authorities and the legislation includes care and management provisions similar to those available to the Revenue Commissioners in respect of dealing with exceptional circumstances and where particular hardships are involved. It is a matter for county and city managers to use these provisions to achieve collection of the charge while responding to difficult cases.

In the event of non-payment of a household charge for which a person is liable by a certain date, the legislation provides for late payment fees and late payment interest of 1% per month or part thereof. The late payment fee to apply in the case of a household charge paid not later than six months after the due date is 10% of the amount outstanding, 20% of the amount outstanding where the charge is paid later than six months and not later than 12 months after the due date and 30% of the amount outstanding where the charge is paid later than 12 months after the due date.

These penalty provisions are proportionate to the level of the household charge and are similar to the provisions that apply under Revenue legislation in respect of the late filing and payment of certain taxes. They are intended to act as an incentive to pay the charge as soon as people can. The sooner they pay, the lower the penalties applied. For those failing to comply with the legislation, the rolled up amount of a late payment fee should not be underestimated and non-payment for a period of two years will leave a person owing €280 when account is taken of the charges, the late payment fees and late payment interest. We want no one to be in that position. Local authorities also have power to take prosecutions against owners who fail to discharge their liabilities. Prosecution will be by way of summary proceedings and a court may impose a class C fine, which ranges from €1,000 to €2,500. This is a great deal of money and includes up to €100 per day until such time as a person pays the €100 charge.

Provision has also been made for data exchanges between local authorities and the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, the ESB, the Property Registration Authority and the Revenue Commissioners. These data are intended to assist local authorities in identifying properties that are liable for the charge and in following up on those households that have not paid.

The Government is not solely focused on local government funding issues. We are seeking to ensure that local government delivers the services that our communities expect as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. We will ensure that the proceeds of the household charge will be put to optimum use in delivering local services and are determined that local authority cost bases will continue to be rigorously examined and reduced to maximise efficiencies that, in turn, impact positively on business.

The public must be reassured that all funds are used to their benefit and that public services are being run as efficiently as possible. Local government is to the fore of the efficiency effort. It has managed to maintain front line services while reducing overall numbers between 2008 and 2012 by more than 8,000, some 22%. In the same period, local government has become more affordable, having reduced revenue expenditure by €736 million, with nearly €200 million in efficiency savings being achieved in the past two years. This efficiency drive will continue.

The Government's commitment to aligning the community development sector with local government will see a stronger role for local authorities in local enterprise and community development while building on local initiative and enterprise. This in turn will maximise the impact of investment to produce jobs at a local level. There are many good examples of authorities working effectively with local enterprise to sustain and develop jobs. The Government's decision to bring county enterprise boards into local authorities by the creation of new local enterprise offices will provide a rationalised, focused and high-quality service to small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, through a more holistic approach to business support. More generally, a new local government sectoral strategy to support jobs is being developed. It will draw from these initiatives and build on best practice.

The household charge has been introduced out of the necessity to ensure that local authority services are funded in a sustainable manner, to close the gap in income and expenditure in the national finances and to ensure that we meet our obligations under the EU-IMF programme. The public want responsible opposition in the House, but a proposal to repeal this legislation is not responsible opposition. The public want responsible debate in the House, but Sinn Féin's statements have not indicated a sensible approach to the management of our public finances, the funding of local government or the widening of the tax base. For Deputy Stanley's party, it is hypocritical to propose the repeal of the household charge, given that party's involvement in government in Northern Ireland where local services are funded-----

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