Council responds to TD's claim over letters

Clare County Council has responded to a claim by Labour TD Michael McNamara, who said approximately 16,500 homes in the county received demands for the household charge after they had paid it.

Mr McNamara said in the Dáil this week that “70 per cent of the approximately 55,000 households in Co Clare have paid, which means that approximately 16,500 households have not paid”.

He added: “Notwithstanding that only 16,500 households have not paid the charge, 33,000 letters issued last week at a cost to Clare County Council of €15,000, including letters to many who had paid and letters to people who are deceased and long deceased in many instances.”

A spokesman for the council said the letters were issued at the request of the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and were “based on a database compiled by the LGMA”. “The LGMA has carried out a comparison between the data on the Property Registration Agency database, and those that have registered and paid, or obtained a waiver, in relation to the household charge,” the spokesman added.

The council spokesman said householders who had already paid the charge and received a letter should contact the central collection bureau at Lo Call 1890 357357 or 00353 -1-2224000 if calling from outside the State.