Homeowners told they should share water tax burden

HOMEOWNERS have been told they should share the burden of a new €450 million residential water tax to be fully operational by 2014.

The Commission on Taxation want the Government to allow local authorities to generate the income by charging households for the full cost of water supplies.

Another €58m would be raised by increasing the charges already applied to commercial units.

The commission said those who use the most water should have to pay more.

“We applied the user/polluter pays principle to our review of the delivery of water and waste services by local authorities.

“We recommend that domestic water charges should be phased in over a five year period,” it said.

The ideal would be to charge by volume but this would not be possible immediately because older houses will not have meters installed.

Instead, the commission called for the an incentive scheme to be introduce to get people to fit meters. In the meantime a flat fee should apply, it said.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, who will have to make a call on this, is already aware of the potential upheaval associated with water charges. His political career was almost still-born when he faced an emotional protest vote in the 1996 by-election to decide the seat vacated by his late father, Brian Lenihan Snr.

He out-polled the chairman of the Federation of Dublin Anti-water Charges Campaigns, Joe Higgins, by a mere 252 votes before going on to win the seat. The federation had led protests in Fingal and South Dublin County for two years after attempts were made to introduce the charge.

Mr Higgins, the MEP for Dublin, said Mr Lenihan can expect deja vu if he attempts to bring back a tax.

“This evoked a massive movement of opposition in the mid-nineties and it will be similar if they try to do it again,” he said.

Street protests and boycotts were a feature of the Dublin campaigns. In other parts of the country water charges were in place.

The charges were subsequently scrapped by the Rainbow Government 13 years after former Labour Party leader Dick Spring guided through legislation to allow local governments to raise revenue from the supply of water.