Families get 3-month water bill reprieve
Government sources last night confirmed the delay in introducing the deeply unpopular charges will be part of a range of measures to be agreed at cabinet today.
Under the original plans, charges were due to kick in from the start of last month, with the first bills scheduled to land in January.
It’s now hoped the revised timeframe will ease the pressure on families in the period after Christmas and bring the majority of people around to the idea of paying for water, following widespread protests in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the threat assessment level and security for Government ministers is being examined in the face of increasingly volatile anti-water charge demonstrations.
Gardaí are to check alarms on the homes of members of the Government and Garda mobile patrols will be stepped up in areas near their residences, the Irish Examiner has learned.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny yesterday described the treatment of Tánaiste Joan Burton by protesters at a weekend event in Dublin — where she was trapped in her car for more than two hours, surrounded by angry protesters — as tantamount to “kidnapping”.
He himself was greeted by chanting anti-water protesters at an event in Sligo last night where his car was kicked and struck with placards, while one man who climbed on the bonnet had to be pulled away by gardaí.
A crowd of about 400 people had been protesting at the entrance to the Sligo Park Hotel where Mr Kenny was due to address a Fine Gael regional meeting, but scuffles erupted when his car was surrounded.
One woman collapsed and was taken by ambulance to Sligo Regional Hospital. Her father James Derwin said he had come along with his children and grandchildren because “it is about their future”.
After his daughter was removed to hospital, Mr Derwin said he had been told she was hit on the head but he had not seen the incident.
Finance Minister Michael Noonan required increased garda protection while attending an event in Limerick yesterday, while the constituency office of Environment Minister Alan Kelly in Tipperary was evacuated following a bomb threat. Junior minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin also said he had been the subject of “bullet protests”.
A security review will now be conducted on the homes of Government members, senior Garda sources last night confirmed. Alarms on ministers’ homes will be checked and mobile patrols stepped up near their residences.
Priority will be given to garda responses near their homes and the “threat assessment” for members was being examined.
Members of the public order unit have been deployed in recent weeks to public and private events attended by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste where gardaí are on standby in ‘soft cap’ uniform.
Gardaí said the incident involving the Tánaiste in Jobstown, Tallaght, at the weekend was being examined and any additional security lessons would be considered.
Tallaght superintendent Peter Duff is compiling a report for Garda HQ on the incident which will be studied by interim commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan.
It has also emerged that the Garda ombudsman is examining 16 complaints against gardaí relating to alleged assault and neglect of duty at anti-water charge protests.
A spokesman for Mr Kenny last night said it would be “business as usual” for him, while Ms Burton’s spokesman said her security was a matter for gardaí.
The Cabinet will today discuss its revised plan for water charges. This will include four years of fixed charges for homes where occupants will pay €76 for one-adult households, and €178 for homes with two or more adults.
Mr Noonan hinted yesterday the Coalition may propose extending the fixed rate for even longer into the next Government, “maybe four years as an arrangement and beyond that again then the idea of flat charges will be preserved”.
Anti-austerity TD Paul Murphy defended his role in Saturday’s protest in Tallaght. He said any acts of lawlessness occurred after the demonstration in Jobstown.
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