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Policemen stand near a collapsed Maxima supermarket in Riga AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis

Security concerns delay search of Riga store wreckage

A survey was carried out to establish how safe the building is. Seven people remain unaccounted for.

LATVIAN OFFICIALS HAVE delayed a search for victims of the supermarket roof collapse that killed at least 54 people, citing safety concerns.

Interior Minstry official Ilze Petersone-Godmane told reporters:

Surveys have been carried out overnight to establish the safety of the building, but we must wait until we have full results before we can resume work.

Petersone-Godmane added that controlled demolitions of unstable areas could go ahead in the afternoon.

Rescue crews had appeared to be winding down their search late last night when a third section of roof collapsed forcing a halt to work for reasons of safety.

Emergency medical services chief Armands Plorins said today the chances of finding anyone alive were “practically speaking, zero.”

President Andris Berzins has demanded a swift and thorough investigation of what he said was the “mass murder of defenceless people”.

Police said that seven of 13 people who had earlier been reported missing remain unaccounted for.

Part of the roof at the two-year old Maxima supermarket crashed down during peak shopping hours on Thursday. A second collapse killed three firefighters who were among rescue teams already inside the building.

Speculation

Speculation about the cause of the disaster has centred on the construction of a rooftop garden and on the possibility that building regulations may have been bent as the structure was only two years old.

The small Baltic nation of two million began a three-day mourning period yesterday as it struggled to come to terms with its worst disaster since independence in 1991.

Latvians also marked the annual All Souls feast of the dead today by lighting candles at the graves of relatives.

Flags across the country were flown with a black sash of mourning and a minute’s silence is planned for Monday.

Read: Latvia probes store disaster as hopes dim of finding survivors>

Read: Death toll in Latvia supermarket roof collapse doubles>

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    Mute Sean Byrne
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 5:47 PM

    Abolish the LPT occupied home tax and implement the law taxing over 183,000 vacant homes. https://www.money.co.uk/mortgages/empty-homes

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    Mute D. Memery
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 6:22 PM

    @Sean Byrne: as you have linked to a UK site is the law you refer too applicable to the UK or Ireland?

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    Mute Lee King Buckett
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 6:44 PM

    @D. Memery: Maybe you should actually read the article first? It’s quite interesting in fairness.

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    Mute Sean Byrne
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 7:03 PM

    @D. Memery: Ireland; There is a Vacancy Tax under the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act, 2015. Under this Act, from 1 January 2017 each local authority is obliged to introduce a vacant site register. With impunity, many councils refuse to comply with this law. As an example, reported in the 2016 census, County Galway had 10’279 vacant properties. The link at the bottom of this page; http://www.galway.ie/en/services/planning/planspolicy/vacantsites/ points to; http://www.galway.ie/en/media/Vacant%20Sites%20Template.docx, which is an empty template document and not a vacant register.

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    Mute D. Memery
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 7:54 PM

    @Lee King Buckett: I did, but the article doesn’t make any mention of a vacant property tax, hence why I asked as a follow on to the link. Did you read the article?

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    Mute D. Memery
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 7:55 PM

    @Sean Byrne: thanks

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    Mute Lee King Buckett
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 8:00 PM

    @D. Memery: Yes I did – it’s a source for the 183,000 vacant properties the OP referred to.

    There’s no mention of any tax whatsoever in there nor did the OP mention any law at all so your comment confused me.

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Nov 3rd 2021, 8:06 PM

    @Sean Byrne:
    Revenue are guilty of maladministration by their coercing people to pay this despicable tax on their family homes which is contrary to all Canons of Taxation.

    Revenue don’t collect taxes on other basic needs like : food, water, medicines, education, healthcare, clothes etc .. so why tax shelter (family homes) … a basic human need, essential to life.

    Macron has just removed Tax Habitation on homes in France …
    The Irish need to wake up …
    https://www.change.org/p/abolish-property-tax-on-family-homes

    3
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    Mute Quiet Goer
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 6:20 PM

    Time to get rid of this silly recession-era tax. Fine Gael lied back in 2011 before they got into power saying they wouldn’t bring in property tax and as soon as they had a nice juicy five year mandate they brought it in anyway.

    The entire ‘local’ thing is just propaganda, money goes to a central pot to pay for Zappone parties and national debt

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    Mute lelookcoco
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 6:38 PM

    @Quiet Goer: Most countries have a similar tax. Lived in France for years and paid two different property/local taxes.

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    Mute Declan Doherty
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 6:49 PM

    @lelookcoco: Most counties provide services for the taxes that are collected. We pay again privately for our services here. You’re comparing apples and oranges.

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    Mute Jason Walsh
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 8:24 PM

    @lelookcoco: and it covers bins and other services for the property

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    Mute Thomas O' Donnell
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 8:44 PM

    @Declan Doherty: All taxes pay for services. That’s how state finances work.

    6
    Reg
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    Mute Reg
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 9:32 PM

    @Jason Walsh: Ask our UK neigbours how much they’re paying. Our LPT and bin charges come nowhere near their council tax and they get billed for water too.

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    Mute Claudia Varell
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    Nov 3rd 2021, 8:29 AM

    @Reg: It’s okay to get billed for water, when there is a supply with clean water you can drink from the tap and accurate waste water treatment.

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    Mute Reg
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    Nov 3rd 2021, 11:55 AM

    @Claudia Varell: I’m not against the principle of water charges Claudia, simply pointing out the difference in household charges between the UK and Ireland.

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    Mute Zack Twamley
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 6:26 PM

    If 70% have yet to file for it, this looks like it could become another Water Tax. I hope it does.

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    Reg
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    Mute Reg
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 7:32 PM

    @Zack Twamley: Or the age old habit of leaving things to the last minute. The vast majority already pay their LPT.

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    Mute Thomas O' Donnell
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 8:49 PM

    @Zack Twamley: If it does it’ll have to be replaced with a different tax

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    Mute Declan Doherty
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 6:53 PM

    “It is morally wrong, unjust and unfair to tax a persons home” – Enda Kenny, 1994

    This tax on family homes should never have been accepted. The only reason FG got away with it was because they got revenue to do their dirty work.

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    Mute Thomas O' Donnell
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 8:50 PM

    @Declan Doherty: Surely Revenue collecting taxes is their job?

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Nov 3rd 2021, 7:51 PM

    @Declan Doherty: Agree.

    —– RURAL HOME OWNERS —–

    What Rural Home Owners get for their LPT Property Tax

    No Mains Water
    No Public Sewage system
    No Street Lighting
    No Footpaths
    No Cycle Lanes
    No Buses
    No DART
    No Luas
    No Public Parks
    No Subsidised Theatres

    https://www.change.org/p/abolish-property-tax-on-family-homes

    if You sign the petition an email is sent to Michael Martin …

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Nov 3rd 2021, 8:00 PM

    @Thomas O’ Donnell:

    Revenue don’t collect taxes on other basic needs like : food, water, medicines, education, healthcare, clothes etc .. so why tax shelter (family homes) … a basic human need, essential to life. Revenue are guilty of maladministration by their coercing people to pay this despicable tax on their family homes which is contrary to all Canons of Taxation.

    Macron has just removed Tax Habitation on homes in France …
    The Irish need to wake up …
    https://www.change.org/p/abolish-property-tax-on-family-homes

    2
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    Mute Tony Mcgrath
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 7:17 PM

    Rang helpline today on 4 occasions told they were busy and ring back latet

    37
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    Mute Leonard O'mahony
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 6:44 PM

    The self assessment element of filing is difficult for people.This causes reluctance .

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    Mute Jason Ebbs
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 6:51 PM

    @Leonard O’mahony: yep. My dad is 80 and this is actually worrying him, even with me doing it. He’s convinced that if he doesn’t pay enough his house will be taken. He’s band 5 and he wanted to pay band 6 just to be safe. It’s a horrible tax. It’s practically two weeks off his pension.

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    Mute Roy Dowling
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 7:20 PM

    @Jason Ebbs: My dad was the same. I had everything filled out he wanted to change it to higher band saying it’s better they owe him than him underpaying.

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    Mute Watchful Axe
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 7:26 PM

    @Leonard O’mahony: There is a bit of a nuisance factor to it. They should have tied it in with An Post to allow people who don’t have a computer to take away a simple form with a free post envelope to return.

    Even if they were worried about doing a bit of work, they could have posted a simple card out to each eircode with a punch hole system and a signature. They could have put the cards through a machine for tallying the bands against the eircodes with the signature checked if someone complains. (and this governmental big data trend is a disgrace, it’ll be a drop of blood for the DNA in twenty years time)

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Nov 3rd 2021, 8:02 PM

    @Jason Ebbs:

    Macron has just removed Tax Habitation on homes in France …
    The Irish need to wake up …
    https://www.change.org/p/abolish-property-tax-on-family-homes

    2
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    Mute Tony Mcgrath
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 7:17 PM

    Rang helpline today on 4 occasions told they were busy and ring back later

    16
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    Mute a
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 7:39 PM

    @Tony Mcgrath: 8 times?

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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 11:03 PM

    Endentured slave tax to the grave

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    Mute Philip Cullen
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    Nov 2nd 2021, 8:30 PM

    Why would anyone voluntary register for this ridiculous tax.

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Nov 3rd 2021, 7:53 PM
    2
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