Schools to pay water charges
Mr Ahern said while households had received a derogation from paying water charges under the European Union’s Water Framework Directive, schools were not exempt and would have to stump up the annual water charges levied by local authorities.
During Leaders’ Questions, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said one school in Sligo was charged €8,000 while another school in Louth was facing a bill of up to €10,000.
He argued the charges were of ridiculous proportions, saying that one arm of the State, the Department of Education, was paying capitation grants, while another arm, local authorities, were taking money away.
Fine Gael said yesterday the Government had made no provision for these new charges, which the party described as a stealth tax.
Mr Kenny said some schools were facing bills up to four times the increase in their capitation grants. “There is no joined-up thinking in the matter of use of water in schools. Parents will need to do charity walks to raise money for water,” he said.
Mr Ahern said the charges were unavoidable under an EU directive but said capitation grants had risen in the past 10 years.
Environment Minister John Gormley said the charges would give schools an incentive to save water. He said the community school in Gorey (the largest school in the country) is saving 28,000 litres of water every day.
