Hogan hint at Revenue role over fee arrears

Phil Hogan has refused to rule out the deduction of the household charge from social welfare payments and said it’s “likely” the Revenue will be involved in the collection of household charge arrears.

Following reports that the Government was considering having property tax taken from welfare benefits, the environment and local government minister was asked yesterday if he would rule out such a move for the household charge.

“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,” said Mr Hogan.

“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 particular worry in 2013.”

Speaking after he turned the sod on a new €13m development at St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny, Mr Hogan rounded on the media in relation to the household charge: “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% that would pay it.

“Almost 70% of the people of this country have paid the household charge because they know we’re in a crisis.”

Mr Hogan described the payments so far as “a great contribution” by the Irish people and said the charge “is a principle that has now been established in spite of the opposition of the media and in spite of the motivation of some political people for their own purposes”.