Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 427: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of the 1.8 million households liable to register for the household tax that have done so. [16769/12]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 428: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of persons who have registered for the household tax that were liable to pay the tax; and the number that were exempt. [16770/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 427 and 428 together.

The Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 provides the legislative basis for the household charge. 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 is on a self-assessment basis and it is a matter for an owner of a residential property on the liability date to determine if he/she has a liability and, if so, to declare that liability and pay the household charge.

The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) is administering the household charge system on a shared service/agency basis for all county and city councils. I understand, from data provided by the LGMA, that as of 26 March, 2012, a total of 363,478 properties had been registered for payment of the household charge. This equates to income of some €36.4m.

The Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 provides for a number of exemptions and waivers from payment of the household charge.

The exemptions from payment of the household charge are residential properties that are part of the trading stock of a business and have not been sold or been the source of any income since construction; residential property owned by a Minister of the Government, 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 (e.g. elderly person that has moved into a nursing home).

The waivers which apply concern owners of residential property entitled to mortgage interest supplement, and owners of houses in certain unfinished housing estates.