This article is from page 6 of the 2012-09-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
THE Government has reneged on a promise to return almost quarter of a million euro to the people of Clare if they increased their payment of the controversial household charge.
The fall out has placed the county’s two Fine Gael TDs in the eye of a storm as they delivered the message from Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan just over a month ago that the cut to the county council’s Local Government Fund was a temporary measure.
In his address to councillors last August, Deputy Pat Breen (FG) said the loss of € 243,000 from the third quarter of the funding allocation would be returned to the council’s coffers.
“You will get back what is owed to you before the need of the year. I don’t think the council should worry about that,” he said.
His colleague Deputy Joe Carey said, “The money is not being cut. It is being withheld.”
“We don’t have to face the cuts if we get the allocation up to 70 to 75 per cent. I got that assurance from Phil Hogan,” he added.
On Friday the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government confirmed the money would not be paid back to Clare County Council under any circumstances but as the county surpassed a 65 per cent payment rate it would not be further penalised during the last quarter of the year.
Deputy Carey told The Cla re People yesterday (Monday) that while the reduction is “disappointing” the overall allocation was € 10.8 million. “The reduction is two and a half per cent within the budget,” he said.
He added that reassurances given to the council by him and his colleagues was done in “good faith”.
“Notwithstanding that, at that meeting I said if Clare County Council got up to 75 per cent there would be a reimbursement, it is still only in the high 60s,” he said.
Since then he said the budgetary situation had changed.
Deputy Breen said he was disappointed, frustrated and angry.
“I am disappointed with the fact he assured us funding would be there and then I got informed that the department cannot deliver on promise,” he said.
He added that he “always tells the truth” and the information was given in “good faith”.
“The return of the household charge is not as good as it should be,” he added which impacted on the loss of the funding.
Asked if his relationship with Minister Hogan was now strained, he said he had a good relationship with all ministers and this was not a personal decision by the minister.
He added however, “I am going to have strong words with Minister Hogan.”