Increase in rent arrears owed to Meath Co Council

The amount of rent arrears owed to Meath County Council has increased in the year between 2019 and 2020, councillors have been told.

Fianna Fail Cllr Damien O’Reilly had asked officials for the amount of arrears owed on council properties.

As of 31st December last arrears stood at €1.6 million which represented a collection rate of 88 per cent. When compared to 31st December 2019 there was an increase in arrears of €330,00.

The figure is in relation to arrears on RAS, social leasing and shared ownership. The council said that the situation had become dynamic between 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid pandemic.

“Meath County Council works closely with tenants in arrear and implements individual payment plans where appropriate,” it said.

Separately, Fine Gael Cllr Sharon Tolan is calling on the Minister for Justice to review the Litter Pollution Act 1997 and the Waste Management act 1996 after questions were raised as to whether the keeping of CCTV footage of littering might breach people’s privacy rights. The councillor wants to ensure that current laws are “fit for purpose” in tackling dumping.

Meath County Council officials quoted the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment as saying that the use of CCTV and other audio visual recording in fighting dumping was an operational matter for local councils. The Minister said that the Data Protection Commission was satisfied that Section 14 of the Waste Management Act 1996 provided a suitable legal basis for the use of such technology in specific circumstances.

However, the commissioner had raised a number of procedural concerns depending on the specific circumstances, the equipment employed and how the equipment is used, the Minister said. As a result, the County and City Management Association has established a working group to liaise with the commissioner on these concerns and to examine the issues raised.