Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011

“Data sharing and exchange.

11.—(1) Notwithstanding any enactment or rule of law—

• (a) a relevant person shall, upon a request from a local authority, provide the local authority with such information in the possession or control of the relevant person or, where the relevant person is a body corporate, any subsidiary (within the meaning of section 155 of the Companies Act 1963) of the relevant person as the local authority may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling the local authority to perform its functions under this Act,

• (b) a local authority shall, at such intervals as the Revenue Commissioners may specify, provide the Revenue Commissioners with such information obtained by the local authority pursuant to this Act, including tax reference numbers, as the Revenue Commissioners may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling them to perform their functions under a specified enactment, and

• (c) a local authority shall, upon a request from, and at such intervals as may be specified by, a Minister of the Government, a local authority or a prescribed person, provide the Minister of the Government, the local authority or the prescribed person, as may be appropriate, with such information obtained by the local authority pursuant to this Act as the Minister of the Government, the local authority or the prescribed person concerned may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling him or her to perform his or her functions.

• (2) The Minister shall not prescribe a person for the purposes of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) unless he or she is satisfied that the provision by a local authority of information obtained by the local authority pursuant to this Act to such person will assist the person in discharging a function conferred on, or delegated to, him or her by or under any enactment.

• (3) In this section—

‘Act of 2010’ means the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010;

‘relevant person’ means—

- (*a*) the Private Residential Tenancies Board established under [section 150](http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2004/act/27/section/150/enacted/en/html) of the [Residential Tenancies Act 2004](http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2004/act/27/enacted/en/html),

- (*b*) the Electricity Supply Board established in accordance with the [Electricity (Supply) Act 1927](http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1927/act/27/enacted/en/html),

- (*c*) the Revenue Commissioners,

- (*d*) the Minister for Social Protection, or

- (*e*) any other person standing prescribed for the time being;

  ‘specified enactment’ means—

- (*a*) the Tax Acts,

- (*b*) the Capital Gains Tax Acts,

- (*c*) the Act of 2010,

- (*d*) the [Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999](http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1999/act/31/enacted/en/html), or

- (*e*) the Act of 2003;

  ‘tax reference number’ means—

- (*a*) in relation to an individual, that individual’s personal public service number (within the meaning of section 262 of the Act of 2005), or

- (*b*) in relation to a body corporate—

    - (i) the reference number stated on any return of income form or notice of assessment issued to that person by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, or

    - (ii) the registration number of the body corporate for the purposes of the Act of 2010.”,

• (m) in section 12—

• (i) in subsection (3), by substituting “the relevant local authority forms the opinion that there exists sufficient evidence to justify the institution of proceedings for the offence concerned,” for “evidence sufficient to justify the institution of proceedings for the offence concerned comes to the knowledge of the relevant local authority for the residential property to which the offence relates,”,

• (ii) in subsection (4), by deleting“or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of”, and

• (iii) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (6):

• “(7) Where a person is convicted of an offence under either subsection (5) or subsection (7) (in so far as either subsection relates to paragraph (c) of subsection (2)) of section 5, the court may, in determining the amount of the fine to impose on the person in respect of that offence, take account of any late payment fee or late payment interest, or both, paid by the person in connection with the failure to pay the household charge to which the offence relates.”,

• (n) by substituting the following section for section 14:

“Regulations, orders and directions.

14.— (1) The Minister may by regulations (and in section 3, by order) provide for any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

• (2) Without prejudice to any other provision of this Act, regulations under this Act may contain such incidental, consequential and supplementary provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

• (3) A regulation or direction under this Act may—

  • (a) apply in respect of all local authorities or such local authorities or classes of local authority as are specified in the regulation or direction, and

  • (b) contain different provisions in relation to different local authorities or classes of local authority.

• (4) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.”,

and

• (o) in subsection (1) of section 15, by substituting “within the administrative area of the county council” for “within the county”.

• (2) Any regulation or direction made or given under the Act of 2009 that is in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall continue in force after such commencement and may be amended or revoked accordingly.

• (3) This section shall come into operation on 1 January 2012.

20. Short title.

20.— This Act may be cited as the Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011.