€100 charge to hit 1.8m households

PENSIONERS, struggling mortgage-holders and thousands of cash-strapped families will be hit with a €100 household charge early next year.

The flat charge will apply to an estimated 1.8 million property owners, regardless of income, with exemptions for those in social housing, stuck in ghost estates or anyone in receipt of mortgage interest supplement.

The Government has been warned the move will be met with a “national reaction” and the start of a fight back against the EU-IMF bailout deal.