Minister for the Environment and Local Government Phil Hogan has refused to rule out the deduction of the household charge from social welfare payments and said it is “likely” the Revenue will be involved in the collection of household charge arrears.
Mr Hogan, asked yesterday if he would rule out such a move, said: “You’ll have to wait for the budget to see what way we’re going to deduct it but all I can say is it’s likely that the Revenue will be involved in the collection of the outstanding arrears in 2013.
“I’d advise people very strongly, that have been advised rather wrongly for not paying this particular charge, to think long and hard now about having the Revenue Commissioners involved in the collection of the arrears and to pay up the charge and their penalties between now and the end of the year and they won’t have that particularly worry in 2013.”
Mr Hogan rounded on the media: “How did you get it so wrong in the media? They told me that this charge was going to be dropped last March, that there wouldn’t be any more than 30 per cent that would pay it. Almost 70 per cent of the people of this country have paid the household charge because they know we’re in a crisis.”
He described the payments so far as “a great contribution” by the Irish people.