THE DEPARTMENT of the Environment has confirmed that owners of second homes face an extra €10 fee if they do not pay those charges online.

The Non-Principal Private Residence Charge (NPPR) affects people who own a residential property (or properties) other than their principal residence. The government says the payments are used to fund local authority services.

A spokesperson for the department today confirmed the handling fee’s introduction to TheJournal.ie and said that the NPPR has been in place for some time.

A report in the Irish Independent this morning said that a new handling fee for people who did not pay the charge online was being introduced, but the €10 handling fee for over-the-counter payments came into effect from 1 January this year.

People who are liable for NPPR are also liable for the household charge payment.

The NPPR is €200 per property (apart from a principal residence) and is due to be paid by 30 June, after which time a late payment fee of €20 is charged per month or per part of a month the charge remains unpaid.

The NPPR was introduced in 2009 under the Local Government (Charges) act 2009.