Household charge red tape criticised
Dublin People 24 Mar 2012
NORTHSIDE
councillor, Nial Ring (Ind), who planned to supply 8,000 registration forms to his constituents
to help them pay the household charge, has claimed his request was refused due
to unnecessary red tape.
The North Inner
City ward councillor told Northside People that the household
charge offices initially agreed to supply him with the forms.
Cllr Ring had
planned to distribute the forms to constituents eligible for the charge who
might not have access to the internet.
“The people in
the household charge office had told me that the forms would be couriered over to
me but then I got a call later to say they couldn’t give me the forms,
? he
stated.
“To make things
even more bizarre I was told that I could get the forms if I requested them
directly from Dublin City Council, who would then obtain them from the household
charge office.
“What a
ridiculous example of bureaucracy and unnecessary red tape.
“Of course, I
did what they asked and went through the city council for the forms
nevertheless.
?
According to
Cllr Ring, many locals who don’t have access to computers were confused and
concerned that they might not be able to pay the charge before the March 31
closing date.
“On Clonmore
Terrace in Ballybough, where my mother lives, just three out of 19 households
have access to the internet,
? he explained.
“One of my mother’s
neighbours is 101-years-old. Should she be expected to go online to pay the
household charge?
“Is it too much
to ask that people have a form they can fill out to pay the fee?
?
At the time of
going to press, Cllr Ring was expected to receive and distribute the forms with
just a few days to spare before the deadline for payments.
“I was just
doing what the Government should have done all along by sending out the
applications to householders,
? he stated.
A spokesman for
Dublin City Council said the household charge bureau was never intended to be
open to the public.
“Household
charge forms can be obtained in small numbers from the bureau by people who
call the bureau and a small stock of forms are available for this purpose,
? he
told Northside People.
“There have
been approximately 1.2 million household charge application forms printed to
date and the majority of these forms have been distributed to local
authorities, post offices and Citizens’ Information Centres.
“The purpose of
the household charge bureau is to process all payments that come in through the
post, directly from local authorities and also to deal with all of the phone
queries that come in from the public through the number 1890 357357.
The spokesman said
the household charge office was established as a transaction processing bureau
and a call centre. He said only small quantities of forms could be provided to
individuals who call the bureau.
“A very large
number of forms were circulated to local authorities and this is why Cllr Ring
would have been advised to contact city council with his request,
? the
spokesman added.
Meanwhile, Cllr
Ring sat on the fence when asked about his views on the controversial charge.
He said he would neither recommend nor discourage people from paying.
“I’m simply
facilitating those who wish to pay the charge,
? insisted Cllr Ring.
“I wouldn’t
advise anybody to break the law by not paying it nor would I be demanding that
they do pay it.
?
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