Water charges - A Pyrrhic victory?

Yesterday afternoon, Environment Minister Phil Hogan conceded the Cabinet will consider “revised proposals’’ on water charges at its meeting tomorrow.

It may be foolish to imagine that this is a concession or a climb down on a fundamental change in the way we fund our services already agreed with the troika. It is unfortunate, though, that it is taking so very long to meter homes, to finalise details of charges, rebates and supports for those unable to pay full fees.

It will, however, be a Pyrrhic victory for Labour if tomorrow’s proposals seem more palatable, especially if the idea of a standing charge is scrapped or the fee reduced significantly.

If this is the case, it will not be surprising if the general charge is increased to the point where the standing charge is included but called something else. Such is the way of the hard world we live in.