The Household charge

[Rossfan]

Ulick is really partitionitly proud of his little bit of "UKness" 

[deiseach]

OK, we've an excellent public playground in my community (Fingal CC area) (free); we've a very good public park (free); we've a new, modern, clean leisure centre (free for most things).  We've three tended beaches, all of which are cleaned regularly by the council - we don't pay to use them or their adjacent parking facilities.  I come from a very rural parish in North Longford - it has a playground (free); it has some public park areas beside Lough Gowna (free to use and free parking), but no leisure centre (nearest in Longford town, don't know about charges).  Mrs Boots comes from Killala in Mayo - it has a public playground (free); it has a leisure centre (free); it has a beautiful attended beach (free access and free parking). 

I don't know what's going on in Wexford - perhaps it's not as well funded due to visitor numbers' maybe they're expected to fund these things through the tourism 'purse', which is hardly ideal.

We could cherry pick all day on this. Ulick refers to clean toilets in pubs and filling a bath for free. I remember being encouraged to check out the gents in the Phil, the pub in Liverpool of which John Lennon said his greatest regret about fame was not being able to go into and have a quiet pint. The urinals are famously grand - they even have their own website - but my first reaction was to marvel at the stench. I'd not been long in Liverpool and I remember thinking (after I'd got some air) that I'd never encountered anything like it in any pub in Ireland before or since. Not even in New Ross. Clearly the council tax wasn't stretching to inspections there. Then there's the water. Water was metered for as long as I lived there from 2002 to 2007. Do they not pay for their water in the North?

[Ulick]

Ulick is really partitionitly proud of his little bit of "UKness" 

No just dislike what you Mexicans have done to f**k-up the rest of my country.

[johnneycool]

OK, we've an excellent public playground in my community (Fingal CC area) (free); we've a very good public park (free); we've a new, modern, clean leisure centre (free for most things).  We've three tended beaches, all of which are cleaned regularly by the council - we don't pay to use them or their adjacent parking facilities.  I come from a very rural parish in North Longford - it has a playground (free); it has some public park areas beside Lough Gowna (free to use and free parking), but no leisure centre (nearest in Longford town, don't know about charges).  Mrs Boots comes from Killala in Mayo - it has a public playground (free); it has a leisure centre (free); it has a beautiful attended beach (free access and free parking). 

I don't know what's going on in Wexford - perhaps it's not as well funded due to visitor numbers' maybe they're expected to fund these things through the tourism 'purse', which is hardly ideal.

We could cherry pick all day on this. Ulick refers to clean toilets in pubs and filling a bath for free. I remember being encouraged to check out the gents in the Phil, the pub in Liverpool of which John Lennon said his greatest regret about fame was not being able to go into and have a quiet pint. The urinals are famously grand - they even have their own website - but my first reaction was to marvel at the stench. I'd not been long in Liverpool and I remember thinking (after I'd got some air) that I'd never encountered anything like it in any pub in Ireland before or since. Not even in New Ross. Clearly the council tax wasn't stretching to inspections there. Then there's the water. Water was metered for as long as I lived there from 2002 to 2007. Do they not pay for their water in the North?

Not directly yet, its meant to be part of your rates, but with NI water being set up as a private company its only a matter of time before its a separate charge.

I'll not be expecting my rates to be dropping by much though!

Businesses are metered IIRC, not domestic supply.

[deiseach]

Not directly yet, its meant to be part of your rates, but with NI water being set up as a private company its only a matter of time before its a separate charge.

I'll not be expecting my rates to be dropping by much though!

Businesses are metered IIRC, not domestic supply.

Thanks for the heads-up.

[Dougal Maguire]

I think you're wrong. Councils are funded through the rates. They get a grant from DOE to cover any rates deficit arising from the impact of Central government policies e.g to cover the cost of rates relief on industrial properties, sports facilities etc

[Rossfan]

Ulick is really partitionitly proud of his little bit of "UKness" 

No just dislike what you Mexicans have done to f**k-up the rest of my country.

Not like the North which was of course fcuked up to start with operating as Prod/Unionist Bantustan and then got rightly fcuked up by your lot from 1970 to 1994 while trying to end the Apartheid State.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Ulick is really partitionitly proud of his little bit of "UKness" 

No just dislike what you Mexicans have done to f**k-up the rest of my country.

I don't know what the Mexicans have to do with this, but as an Irishman from County Mayo, I dislike what ye lot of done to the 6 north eastern counties of my country.

[Minder]

What sort of grace would you get from LPS for starting to pay rates, I bought a house a couple of weeks ago and got my rates bill in the other day. Was gonna tell them I haven't moved in yet as I don't fancy paying them yet, will they wear it ?

[BenDover]

Tell them you've a few tradesmen in round the place doing some work to it before you move, should buy you some time! Worked for me a few years ago.

[Billys Boots]

I hear what you're saying - as I say, the only difference is in the way in which you are paying.  In RoI you pay as you use - in NI you pay upfront whether you use it or not.  The only difference I can see is that waste refuse services are no longer within the remit of local government in RoI; you must commission them privately.  Everything else you mention is covered by local govt here, as far as I know.

And that ended up with some of those private companies illegally dumping the rubbish up north. Big issue about it in this part of Tyrone about a decade or so ago. 

Bummer, binmen are rogues everywhere - I could tell you some stories about the waste management companies operating out of the 6-counties bringing their shite south of the border too.  In fact I could tell you some horror stories about county council collected waste too.  Binmen will always tell you that they're only serving the needs of their clients/customers, which is probably not a lie either.

[johnneycool]

What sort of grace would you get from LPS for starting to pay rates, I bought a house a couple of weeks ago and got my rates bill in the other day. Was gonna tell them I haven't moved in yet as I don't fancy paying them yet, will they wear it ?

There's no grace now for empty properties, the rates still need payed.

If it was a new property and they deemed it fit for habitation then its rateable from that visit even if you haven't got a completion certificate, not sure how bendover and the renovations aspect work, I'd doubt if they'd buy it.

I accidentally got a neighbours rates bill and it was backdated for over 4 years, was the better part of 5K, but they give you a nice wee plastic card thing for 'easy' payment. I near shit the togs when I opened it, but thankfully there had been a mistake in house numbering between building control, the LPS and the RCA.