Water is a basic ‘right’ and should not be dependent on wealth and the markets

In yet another rant, Anthony Leavy (Irish Examiner, Letters, 29 October) says the media is not condemning the “mobs who do not want to pay for anything”.

The reasons for the protests against water charges are varied. Some people object to the ham-fisted, arrogant and intrusive manner in which Irish Water is harvesting personal data. Others want to prevent the privitisation of water services.

I don’t believe there is anybody who “doesn’t want to pay for anything”, as Mr Leavy nonsensically says. Irish people have been paying for water through direct and indirect taxes, and they are being asked to pay for it twice over.

It is by no means ‘hard left’ or ‘socialist’ to suggest that a clean water supply is a basic facility that a State should provide. It should not be left to the vagaries of the profit-obsessed market, nor should a person’s access to clean water be dependent on their wealth. Yet with the creation of Irish Water, Fine Gael and Labour have made these dreadful prospects a reality. Given that Mr Leavy has often lamented the actions of a few unnamed ‘decision-makers’ during the boom, one would have thought hundreds of thousands of people peacefully protesting would have been right up his street.

Simon O’Connor

Lismore road

Crumlin

Dublin 12