If you think the household charge is bad, just wait for what happens next

BACK in the late 1980s one of the most contentious fundraising decisions made by the then Fianna Fáil government was the introduction of charges for holding a fishing rod licence.

It may have seemed a small and innocuous measure to the majority — and indeed even a fair one, given that the State policed and maintained the lakes and rivers and had to cover its costs — but the issue caused unexpected ructions at the time, much to the disquiet of that government.

Sometimes it’s the little things that trip you up, as former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds once observed ruefully. The household charge introduced by the government this week for 2012, at a first year charge of €100, won’t bring it down such is the size of its majority, even if more backbench TDs get wobbly and run, in a self-serving fashion, for their independence. But if this administration suffers death by 1,000 cuts then the disquiet caused by this sneaky little new tax will be one of the most damaging decisions it made.