I agree with Emmet Stagg’s assessement of the ghost estate situation.
There’s no way the 43,000 estates that were previously deemed to be in such a state that they shouldn’t have to pay a €100 last year have now miraclously been transformed into a state where they’re ok.
Last year 43,000 houses were exempt from the household charge but, ‘miraclously’, that figure has dropped to a mere 5,100 this year.
Even if Ireland was a functional democracy with a world class administrative system that pulled out all the stops in order to rectify the ghost estate debacle it would still be impossible for such progress to be achieved in such a short period of time.
It is reasonable therefore to conclude that Housing Minister Jan O’Sullivan is lying when she claims that the dramatic drop is a result of government action.
Irish citizens know, much to their cost, that a lying politician is a much more likely explanation for such claims rather than an efficient/competent administrative system.