No pay...No pave, say council

Cavan County Council has reiterated its hardline stance on household charge defaulters - stating that the delivery of services in the county will be prioritised in areas that have higher compliance rates. Speaking to the Celt yesterday (Tuesday) following Monday's September meeting of the local authority, Joe McLoughlin, director of services, confirmed that policy could extend - as in the case of Clare County Council - to the processing of college grants locally. At the meeting on Monday, Mr McLoughlin said that while this year's programme for works has been decided, in future and in the interest of fairness, the council will have to prioritise areas where the household charge is being paid rather than targeting those most in need. Speaking to The Anglo-Celt yesterday, Mr McLoughlin warned that the council has already begun investigating the possibility of cross-referencing all houses currently availing of local authority services against those who have not paid their household charge, similar to the action taken by Clare County Council who have begun asking people to submit proof of household charge payment when applying for third level education grant aid. "The issuing of third level grants is one option, we're examining that and there are a number of other options open to us also in relation to anyone in receipt of local authority services. People in receipt of grants or any other services, we will have to now consider whether they have paid their household charge in the context of collecting it," he said. See this week's Anglo-Celt for full report from the Council meeting...