A number of members of Mayo County Council took an opportunity to criticise Mayo County Council for being the first local authority to bring prosecutions for non payment of the household charge, during a financial review of the council for the first nine months of the year at the November meeting. They also criticised the council for sending out a number of letters to people who had already paid demand payment.
Cllr Richard Finn told the meeting, “I was a little dismayed to read that we were the first county to do this.” He continued, “I had a person come to me who got three summons for this and they went and paid the charge and the extra levy for being late, they thought it was all done then. But then they get a letter from a solicitor for the council looking for costs of over €500. There has to be some give and take when the people pay the charge in the end.”
Cllr Gerry Coyle told the meeting, “I got a letter myself looking for me to pay, but I can see how things can happen with land registrations not being updated and the like. But my question is what will happen when someone gets one of those letters and has paid and doesn’t do anything about it, who will pay the legal fees then if they are prosecuted.” While Cllr Frank Durcan added: “In the birthplace of Davitt it was outrageous that this should be happening at all, the whole thing is against everything he stood for.”
