LEGAL PROCEEDINGS should be instituted to recoup the almost €27 million in bin-charge arrears owed to a Dublin local authority, the Local Government Auditor has said.
In his annual audit report for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, auditor Anthony Doheny warned it could be too late to collect some of the bin-charge debts because they are so old they may be statute barred.
The report, which examines the council’s 2008 accounts, is to be brought before councillors at a meeting today.
The environmental waste charge was introduced in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in 2000. For the first five years it involved a fixed charge only, with the current pay-by-weight scheme being introduced in January 2005.
The report found that at the end of 2008, there was almost €27 million owed to the council in bin-charge arrears.
It said it appeared that almost 9,000 households had “virtually paid nothing at all” of the fixed charges imposed from 2000 to the end of 2004, amounting to arrears of €10 million. And more than €10 million of the debt was owed by more than 14,000 householders who had since taken their business to private bin operators.
“These accounts should be pursued vigorously,” Mr Doheny said.
But he warned it was probable the “early debtors may become statute barred at this stage”.
“For the last two years I urged that legal proceedings should be instituted against non-payers and the legal department could consider registering charges against properties where significant arrears exist,” he said.
“The council needs to have a more pro-active collection policy.”
In response, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county manager Owen Keegan said the council had an active ongoing policy of discontinuing service to householders with unacceptable arrears levels.
He said to date 9,000 householders have had their waste collection discontinued.
The council had also appointed debt collectors and referred 7,700 accounts to them so far. “The arrears threshold figure above which service is discontinued will continue to decrease in 2010,” he said.
The auditor also highlighted the council’s collection of commercial charges.
In 2008 only 31 per cent of the water charges due were actually paid, down from 43 per cent in 2007 and 51 per cent in 2006.
Mr Doheny said the collection of commercial water charges had disimproved again and remained unsatisfactory.
In response, Mr Keegan said the arrears were due to a combination of a water metering project and a new billing system.
He also said more than 100 disconnection notices were issued to businesses in 2009.
