Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not disagree with anything the Minister has said but it is more than an irritation to receive those letters: for some it is a source of worry. My parents received such a letter and were very worried that they had a tax liability. I know several people who are upset because they received letters in respect of people who had died. There is a register of births, marriages and deaths in the country. I wonder whether that is one of the databases that has been cross-referenced. There is also the issue of letters being sent to many people in the same household when, of course, there is only one household charge to be paid, in instances where even that one has been paid.

The Minister mentioned my legal background. On that basis I would be interested to find out what was the legal basis for compelling finance officers in local authorities across the country. I do not expect the Minister has an answer to that question now but perhaps the legal basis for instructing local government officials to send out these letters could be outlined by way of a letter at a later date. Furthermore, I understand that councils were instructed by correspondence on 2 July that three letters were to issue and the dates on which they were to issue. The first letters have gone out and, as Deputy Farrell pointed out, have caused annoyance, worry and grief in many instances. Perhaps these errors could be amended and rectified in advance of the second and third batch of letters going out.

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