Teachers warn parents over school water bills

SCHOOLS may be forced to ask parents for extra financial assistance as they are hit by water usage bills, teachers have warned.

The Government treats schools as businesses in this instance, though they have to pay VAT on items such as computers raised from fundraising.

Under the Government’s water pricing policy, all non-domestic premises, including schools, charities and sports clubs, must have meters installed by the end of the year and pay for the supply and treatment of water.

A Fianna Fáil member of Cork City Council warned on Monday that children’s health would be put at risk if unpaid charges led to supply being cut off to schools, after 12 disadvantaged schools in the city were notified of the charges.

The principal of a school in one of Dublin’s most disadvantaged areas said they are already struggling financially without the added burden of water rates.

Dublin City Council issued St Louise’s Junior School in Ballyfermot with a commercial water bill for 234.70 last May, weeks after installing a water meter.

“We don’t even know what period this bill is for, and we’re already paying more than €1,000 a year for our refuse collection,” said Kathryn Crowley, principal of the 270-pupil school.

She said these bills have to come out of the school’s day-to-day budget from the Department of Education, which is also expected to cover rising heating and electricity prices.

“The department should refund schools or it should be invoiced directly for the council charges. We’re being billed for commercial rates but if we buy a new computer from fundraising, we have to pay €200 or €300 to the Government in VAT that a business can have refunded,” she said.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said there was no justification for charging schools at commercial rates.

“Primary schools are not businesses and are already struggling to make ends meet in the face of rocketing energy costs. These charges will leave schools seeking bigger voluntary contributions from parents,” said INTO general secretary John Carr.

He said primary schools should be exempt from such charges or the Department of Education could pay the Department of the Environment a central fee to cover charges for all schools.

The Department of the Environment said that, while current arrangements for schools may be based on fixed water services charges, local authorities are moving towards metering all non-domestic water use.

“This will provide a transparent and equitable cost recovery mechanism for water services, which should incentivise all non-domestic users, including schools, to conserve their use of water,” a spokesperson said.

On Monday night, FF councillor Tim Brosnan suggested Environment Minister Dick Roche come and turn off water supply to Cork schools if they cannot pay bills being imposed by Cork City Council.

Local Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen said it was a matter of Government policy that schools are being billed thousands of euro for water services they cannot afford.