Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Question 412: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if a householder is liable for the household charge when local authority rates are already being paid on the property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7562/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 and the Local Government (Household Charge) Regulations 2012 provide the legislative basis for the household charge. The Act places the household charge under the care and management of the local authorities, and application in particular circumstances is a matter for the relevant local authority. Interpretation of the legislation is a matter for legal advice in individual cases and ultimately a matter for the Courts.

Section 2 of the Act sets out the meaning of "residential property" for the purposes of the Act. In particular, section 2(2)(d) of the Act provides that a building that is wholly used as a dwelling (other than a dwelling that forms part of a mixed hereditament within the meaning of the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1978), and in respect of which local authority rates are payable, is not a residential property for the purposes of the household charge. There would be a liability in respect of a residential property that forms part of a mixed hereditament, within the meaning of the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1978, unless otherwise exempted or entitled to a waiver.