COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, September 10, 2012

QUESTION NO 26

QUESTION: Councillor E. Tuffy

To ask the Manager if, in the event that the cut in the Council's LGF Fund allocation is implemented by Government, she can advise councillors if it is necessary to cut the level of services provided by this Council in 2012, and if so, what are her proposals?

REPLY: 

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has clarified that the final amount of the Local Government Fund General Purpose Grants available for 2012 will be “revisited and reviewed in Quarter 4 to take account of the then financial position including progress on securing an increased household charge yield”.  Budget expenditure for 2012 is being reviewed in light of the reduction in the Council’s income.  However while €1.9m has been the full amount of the reduction in the Local Government Fund general purpose grant with an immediate cut of €475,210 the Minister has undertaken to review the situation.  As such it is not possible to identify the full impact of the reduction at this time.  Frontline services are prioritized and will be protected, in as far as possible from budgetary adjustments, it will be necessary when the full information is available to adjust the budget accordingly. 

The Minister has prioritised the collection of the household charge as part of this review and 60.1% of homeowners in South Dublin have already registered and paid this charge.  This collection has improved since circular Fin 09/2012 (LGF General Purpose Allocations 2012) was issued in July 2012 and home owners continue to register and pay the charge.  The Council will actively pursue all outstanding charges.  Homeowners have the option to register and pay the household charge online at www.householdcharge.ie or in person at the Council’s Offices in County Hall, Tallaght and Civic Centre, Clondalkin and customer care staff are available to assist homeowners in completing the household charge registration forms.  The owner of a residential property who does not pay the Household Charge by the due date will incurr late payment fees and late payment interest.  A late payment penalty of €10 (in addition to the penalty charge previously incurred) will apply on 1 October 2012 bringing the total due at this date to €127, for an unpaid property.  In addition to late payment penalties, interest of 1% is accrued to unpaid accounts each month.