IRISH PEOPLE living abroad and non-Irish owners of holiday houses in the State are being hit by large penalties because they failed to pay or are unaware of the €200 tax on second homes.
Kerry County Council is insisting that the fines it is imposing on non-Irish second-home owners will have to be paid.
The charges involve the tax for non-principal private residences plus mounting penalties for non-payment.
This is despite the householders’ claims they were unaware of the charge of €200 a year, which was advertised locally and in national newspapers but not internationally. The council never directly contacted the homeowners, who found out indirectly.
A retired English headmaster who has a second home on the Ring of Kerry has been told by the council he has to pay almost €1,800 in fines alone despite offering to pay his non-principal private residence tax for the past three years.
Bob Hawkes, who lives for most of the year near London, and his family fell in love with Kerry in the 1990s and have a house between Castlecove and Caherdaniel.
“I’ve reached the end of my tether,” Mr Hawkes said after pleading with council officials that it was unjust to impose the fines.
“It’s a direction I knew nothing about. I am sorry I don’t listen to local radio and I can’t get the Irish television channels here.”
He sent a cheque to the council for €600, but the cheque was returned and a demand for a total of almost €2,400 sent instead. That was in May. The fines have been frozen over the past months because of his offer to pay.
Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, who has raised the matter in the Dáil, said councils could use their discretion. Foreign homeowners were very important to Kerry, he said.
“Only for the blow-ins, we locals would have been blown away a long time ago.”