Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will consider the relevant points made in correspondence (details supplied) regarding the household charge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49540/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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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 is liable to pay the Household Charge, unless otherwise exempted or entitled to claim a waiver. It is a matter for an owner of a residential property to determine liability. Liability for the Charge is not contingent on receipt of any form of invoice detailing the services provided to, or received by, a liable person.

The Local Government Management Agency is administering the Household Charge system on a shared service/agency basis for all county and city councils. There was no existing comprehensive database of residential properties and their owners within the State prior to the Household Charge being introduced. The collection of the Household Charge via self-assessment declaration provides for the collation of such information in relation to residential property and will be an essential component for implementing a full local property tax. Local authorities are continuing to identify undeclared properties through appropriate data sharing provisions, and significant efforts have been expended in matching self-declared information with other datasets and in refining the resulting data.

The Agency and local authorities will continue their work in maximising compliance with a charge which funds essential local services for communities. 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.

It is an offence to fail to declare a liability and also to fail to pay the Charge.