Creighton: Local authorities will be dependent on Household Charge
There has been an angry reaction to warnings from Government ministers that the refusal of some people to pay the Household Charge would result in service cuts at local authorities.
Junior Minister Fergus O'Dowd said that the refusal of some people to comply with the charge will result in service cuts for many.
Sinn Féin's Dublin City Councillor, Mícheál Mac Donncha, has said funding for local authorities has already been cut by the Government.
But Minister for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton said the situation is simple.
Ms Creighton said: "Funding sources for local authorities have diminished dramatically and also there is the local government fund, which comes from central government, which has also had to be cut in recent years.
"Central government, obviously given the constraints at the moment, isn't in a position to increase or top it up, so local authorities will be dependent on this charge."
