A good idea - Raid wages to pay Dáil bar tab

THERE can hardly be a bar owner in the country whose generosity in extending credit to regular customers has not been misplaced. Bar tabs are often the abandoned and unloved children of excess, so it is not surprising to hear that the Dáil bar has had to write off bills because there is “no realistic prospect of recovery of the sums due”.

The figure involved is modest enough — €5,405 in almost two decades — but it has provoked a forthright response from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. He has suggested that the money be taken from errants’ wages or, if possible, pensions. This is an entirely commendable response, one that invokes a principle that might be effectively applied elsewhere.

Navan is the latest town to run dry when a water main burst. A swathe of the north east has water supplies again after a week or more of emergency measures in response to a major leak. There will be more leaks like these in our clapped out water infrastructure and they represent a very strong argument for water charges. Mr Varadkar’s response to the Dáil bar bill shows how they might be collected.