I will not pay for water that I already own as a citizen of Ireland

I will not return any information to Irish Water before November 30. I have a number of reasons:

1. The water in Ireland belongs to the nation and should not be ‘sold’ to the people who already own it. Irish Water say they have the right to discontinue the supply to my home. Water is the most basic of human needs.

2. The current legislation does not prevent the sale of Irish Water to a private concern, nor to a group of shareholders. I do not accept that the government of today, or any future government, should have the legal right to sell it.

3. My taxes go to central government to pay for public services. A grant is made to Cork County Council to ensure I have clean water supplied to my home. People are employed on a local level, with local experience, knowledge and expertise, to deal with problems. When I have an issue with water, I should not have to deal with a call-centre that does not have this knowledge or expertise.

4. Irish Water have sent an information pack that requires me to supply them with personal information, about my family, to which they are not entitled. It asks for PPS numbers for my children and contends I will not be given an allowance if I do not provide this information. Irish Water do not say what they can do with this information.

5 Irish Water intend to install a meter outside my house without my permission. Yet they contend that I am responsible for the maintenance of the water supply from the meter to my house. A failure of the water supply will incur an unknown cost to me for a repair. Neither the information pack, nor the website of Irish Water, outlines its responsibilities to me.

6. I will accept that the water supply to my home, and to other homes, must be maintained and upgraded. The water network of the country needs maintenance and upgrading, on an ongoing basis, to ensure clean and constant supply.

A similar task is dealt with by the National Roads Authority in relation the road network. Irish Water should be based on a similar model.

It should be an advisory body that provides for ‘big picture’ development work on a national basis. It should manage, and plan for, the supply to all of the country, but not maintain the network.

The maintenance of the network should remain with the agencies that already have the personnel and expertise at a local level ie the county councils.

John Scanlan

Wrenbank

Mount Oval

Rochestown

Co Cork