31/07/2008

Dublin Council Talking Trash

Councillors are threatening to take up to 7,000 homeowners in Dublin's southside suburbs to court over unpaid refuse charges.

Residents of Dublin's southside suburbs face almost €26m worth of penalties since their introduction eight years ago.

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council is reported to have written to householders within the last few weeks warning that it will "pursue outstanding debts up to and including litigation".

Over 5,000 people in the Council area are believed to have not made any bin charge payments since their controversial introduction in 2000 while 6,899 households are in arrears of more than €1,300.

Despite the massive sum in outstanding arrears the council has admitted that it only introduced an enforcement policy on the non-payment of charges at the beginning of this year.

Those refusing to pay could ultimately end up in court and could face large fines as well as having to pay the council's considerable legal costs.

Surprisingly, the non-compliance with bin charges has been associated with the areas more affluent neighbourhoods in Foxrock, Dalkey, Dundrum, Sandycove and Blackrock according to an audit of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown's finances.

Since 2005 that level of arrears had grown from €20.6million to €25.8million.

(DW)(BMcC)

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