Rural councils face brunt of cutbacks

The Department of the Environment has written to all county and city managers giving updated details of the sums deducted from their funding as a result of the non-payment of the €100 household charge.

The letter outlines cuts of up to €1.2m from third- quarter grants from the central local authority fund based on the level of compliance with the levy in their councils.

Smaller, rural councils are the worst hit because they are more reliant on the funding than urban areas, which get more commercial rates from businesses.