Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In addressing this matter we should begin with first principles.

Ireland is committed, under the EU-IMF programme, to the introduction of a property tax. We must put the funding of locally-delivered services on a sound financial footing, improve accountability and better align the cost of providing services with the demand for such services, as Deputy McNamara has rightly pointed out. It was considered, in light of the complex issues involved, that a local property tax would take time to introduce and accordingly to meet the requirements of the EU-IMF programme, the Government decided to introduce a household charge in 2012 as an interim measure.

This was done via the Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011. Under the Act, an owner of a residential property on the liability date of 1 January 2012 is liable to pay the household charge, unless otherwise exempted or entitled to claim a waiver. The household charge funds local services delivered by local government, services upon which many people depend. However, a sizable number of liable property owners are failing to discharge their legal obligations. Non-compliance by liable owners means reduced resources for local authorities to use to support communities and places a greater burden on those owners who do pay the charge, that is, their neighbours, colleagues and friends. A bureau is in place in the Local Government Management Agency to administer the charge on a shared service-agency basis for all local authorities. The legislation places collection of the charge under the care and management of local authorities. It is a matter for local authorities to use their local knowledge and judgment in issuing reminders to households, and local authorities have been working with the bureau to do so.

For my part I expect the local government system actively to pursue those liable owners who are simply refusing to pay. I fully support the local authorities in seeking to encourage compliance by liable property owners with the Oireachtas legislation.

There was no comprehensive database of residential properties and owners prior to the household charge being introduced. It is a sad reflection on the State that we could not say who owned property. The collection of the household charge via self-assessment declaration provides for the collation of such information in relation to residential property. This work is an essential element for the effective implementation of the local government tax in 2013 and it is in everybody's interest that this work continues.

Local authorities are continuing to identify undeclared properties through appropriate data sharing provisions outlined in the 2011 Act. Strenuous efforts have been made to match self-declared information with other datasets and in refining the resulting data. The letters being issued by local authorities are based on information provided by the Property Registration Authority. Such datasets are imperfect. As Deputy McNamara is aware from his legal background in some cases the information may not have been updated with the most relevant or recent details. In other cases address formats vary from dataset to dataset. As a consequence of names and addresses having been entered and recorded differently in computer systems, and of the same addresses appearing in different formats from dataset to dataset, members of the public have received letters from local authorities in error. I appreciate that the receipt of a letter in such circumstances is an irritation to those who have already paid. The Local Government Management Agency has had great difficulty in getting access in good information and has had to spend a considerable amount of time in dealing with other public bodies to get agreement and protocols in places to comply with the Data Protection Act to ensure people's rights and responsibilities and privileged information is not made available to, perhaps, competitors particularly in the public utilities.

Any person who has received a letter in error need only contact the Household Charge Bureau - I recognise it causes inconvenience to do so - and the issue will be dealt with. Similarly, liable owners who are experiencing other difficulties should contact their local authority or the bureau.

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