Government have undermined Irish Water
Having mandated Irish Water to fix the hodge-podge of water supply hardware and to supply water fit for purpose, they undermine the new corporation by meddling in water pricing policy. Water infrastructure costs.
It follows those tapping into that hardware should pay at least the cost of servicing that fixed, or growing cost — the reason for a standing charge. As supply of water, and the processing of waste water, costs in proportion to usage, a unit charge for water is patently obvious.
In the meantime, the local authorities, which formerly supplied us all with water out of remote taxes (like rates and central-government sources), no longer have to bear these costs. So let’s have our remote taxes back, please? springs to mind. Unfortunately we are also broke and spending nearly a billion a month more than we raise in taxation, so that’s not on.
Civilised behaviour obliges us to make up the income of impoverished families to enable them to pay for water. Why not do that directly from Social Welfare?
The Government’s decision to give “free” water for all children under 18 years is novel, but daft. What effect is it going to have on the behaviour of householder-consumers? Squandering water; cheating on family numbers, even having more children to avoid the charges, spring to mind.
If it’s public policy for all adult consumers to provide free water to the under 18s, why not free food, free whatever-you-are-having-yourself for them? What is becoming of family responsibilities, the more so in an over-populated world? How is Irish Water to behave in this regime?
