Today’s report that the Government has approved spending €600 million on the installation of domestic water meters in every home in the country shows the utter hypocrisy in their approach to water supply and water charges. The clear intention is to lash another punitive tax on working people.
Meanwhile – incredibly – in many local authority areas up to half of the pristine, drinking water, treated at taxpayers’ expense, leaks into the ground. This is a according to the latest Local Government Management Board’s Annual Indicators Report. But we knew fifteen years ago that this was happening.
Clearly the key and most effective water conservation measure is to stop the massive haemorrhage of this precious resource.
Environment Gormley will claim that the imposition of water charges is a crucial conservation measure. But let’s look at the record of the last two governments on this.
Up to half of the current housing stock in the State was built since Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats came to power in 1997. They allowed speculators, developers and banks to make an obscene killing on the construction of these homes. Yet they did not legislate for a single, significant method of water conservation to be inbuilt into these new structures.
The obvious measures to have insisted on for water conservation would be to have installed in every new home dual flush toilets and rain water harvesting tanks among other measures. Nothing was done.
Yet Mr Gormley has the audacity to pretend that his Fianna Fail/Green Party Coalition is a champion of water conservation by hammering ordinary householders. The cost of that to householders could be €700 to €800 per year according to Minister Mary Hanafin.
Water charges were abolished in December 1996 as a result of a major movement of people power opposition expressed in a massive boycott campaign. Their reimposition would meet a similar campaign. Apart from the double taxation objection of PAYE workers in particular it is well understood that getting water charges imposed would be a prelude to moves to the privatisation of the water supply, as happened with bin charges.
CHECK OUT OTHER RELATED ARTICLES:
- Water Charges Will Spark A Water War
- Gormleys Water Charges: Up to €900 a household?
- Minister Gormley facilitates Siemen’s cynical offer on water meters
- Joe Higgins attacks Gormley’s water charges
- The Big Water Charges Frame-up
