Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 160: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of households that still have to pay the household charges; the way in which and when the money raised will be allocated to local authorities [31331/12]

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of households that have paid the household charge; the number of these that are entitled to waivers; and the action he will take to meet the shortfall in the funding of local authorities. [31338/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 160 and 166 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 €100 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 22 June 2012, a total number of 967,816 declarations have been made, equating to over €94.5m. 17,607 households had claimed a waiver. It is estimated that some 1.6 million residential properties are liable for the household charge.

The Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 provides that income from the household charge is to be paid into the Local Government Fund. This funding is provided to local authorities in general-purpose grants, making it possible for me to equalise distribution and ensuring that those local authorities with lower populations than others do not suffer unduly as a result. General purpose grants are paid on a quarterly basis. General Purpose Grants contribute to meeting the difference between the cost to local authorities of providing a reasonable level of services and the income available to them from local sources and from specific grants. The two principal sources of revenue for the Local Government Fund are the proceeds of motor tax and the income from the Household Charge. General purpose grants from the Local Government Fund are designed to bring about equalisation, over time, so that each authority will have sufficient resources, either from central grants or from its local income base, to provide a reasonable level of day to day services to its customers. For the purposes of allocations, a range of factors is taken into account, including each local authority's expenditure on, and income from, its services, and the overall amount of funding available for distribution.

The income generated from the household charge is kept under constant review. However, it is up to individual local authorities to address any potential funding shortfalls arising from non-compliance with the legislation and to pursue those who may have a liability and initiate court proceedings, where it is considered appropriate.