asked the Minister for the Environment the percentage of water charges which were not paid in the Dublin Corporation area in 1983 and 1984.

Dublin Corporation's estimates provided for water charges receipts of £3.1 million in 1983 and £4 million in 1984. Six hundred and thirty thousand pounds or 20 per cent of the 1983 estimate was collected up to the end of 1983, but a further £506,000 collected in the first half of this year left about 63 per cent of the 1983 estimate outstanding at the end of June. Since the 1984 demands were issued in June, the corporation have collected over £1.58 million, leaving about 62 per cent of the amounts included in the 1983 and 1984 estimates outstanding at this time.

Does the Minister consider the situation to be satisfactory when approximately half the revenue expected from the water service charges introduced by his Government have not been paid? What is the financial position of the local authorities who have been left short of the amounts which were estimated in their calculations for expenditure for 1983 and 1984?

The question refers to Dublin Corporation and in that case the situation was not satisfactory. As I said in my reply, the situation has greatly improved in the last few months and that improvement is reflected throughout the country. I am satisfied that a better effort is being made this year than was made in previous years to have these charges collected throughout the country. In some counties perhaps the charges applied were not sufficient to meet the problems of those counties.

Did the Minister say that only 48 per cent of the water service charges had been collected?

I gave the figures for the Dublin Corporation area and I want to stress that this is one of the areas where receipts were more difficult to collect. I said the amount outstanding over the two years was 62 per cent of the estimates for 1983 and 1984 compared with 63 per cent of the 1983 figure and a period earlier this year.

In view of the failure of the Government's legislation introducing water service charges, would they reconsider their decision about this additional taxation which they imposed on local residents?

The local authorities have the power to decide whether to apply local charges. It is not for me to decide this.

Not when they are being left short by the Department.

The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.