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Council issuing 30,000 warning
letters
12.10.12
DONEGAL County Council
has begun issuing letters to more than 30,000
households advising them of their liability to pay
the Household Charge.
More than 34,000 householders in Donegal have paid
the charge so far.
The letter reminds householders that this is a self
declaration charge and that late payments continue
to incur penalties and interest fees on an ongoing
monthly basis. The amount now due, if paid in
October, is €127 per property and this will continue
to increase each month until the charge is paid.
The Council said households have been identified
from the Property Registration Authority database.
"Due to the manner in which names and addresses can
be entered and recorded differently in computer
systems by the public it is possible that in some
circumstances details may not be matched correctly
and some householders may receive a letter in error.
"In these cases and to avoid receiving further
letters households are asked to contact the Central
Bureau to verify their details and to ensure their
records are updated," the local authority said in a
statement.
Director of Finance with Donegal County Council,
Garry Martin said: “We understand that from 2013 the
Revenue Commissioners will be responsible for
pursuing any outstanding Household Charge and we
would urge households who have not yet paid the
charge to do so as soon as possible to avoid any
further penalties and interest fees that the Revenue
Commissioners will likely be pursuing from 2013 on."
The Council said monies collected from the Household
Charge contributes to the local authority's Local
Government Fund "which finances or co-finances local
services including fire and emergency services, road
maintenance and street cleaning, development and
other community projects". Libraries, playgrounds,
public lighting are also funded through the charge,
the Council said. It indicated that Donegal's weak
compliance rate to date for payment had
"necessitated in the Council reviewing options for
postponement of certain expenditure between now and
the end of the year". The Council did not state what
expenditure would be postponed.
Meanwhile, Mr Martin added: ”The greater the level
of payment compliance in the county in the next
number of weeks, the lesser the impact on available
spend between now and the end of the year." |
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