Controversial charges still not quite water under the bridge

World of Politics with Harry McGee

Water charges; they haven’t gone away you know. And they’ll soon be for some households if – as expected – Irish Water gets the go-ahead later this month to charge domestic residences that are wasting water.

When the existing arrangement was dropped for good in 2017, most people thought water charges were gone for good. An all-party committee decided it would be best for citizens to pay for water out of their general taxes.

But a last-minute compromise between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil (with the support of the Greens) changed that a little. They said that there was a small proportion of the population who ‘wilfully wasted’ water and used far more than the average domestic volume of water. That small group (about eight per cent) would be charged.

This late change was a bit of a desperate attempt to appease the EU.

Back in 2003, the European Union published the Water Framework Directive. Part of that was the introduction of water charges as an incentive to householders not to waste water.

At the time there were no water charges in Ireland and State availed of an exemption.

However, when the financial crisis hit in 2009, the then Fianna Fáil-Green government agreed to introduce water charges. You would guess Fianna Fáil was forced to do it; the Greens had little problem with the idea then or now.

So when the 2011 general election was called, water charges was one of many issues milling around. Fianna Fáil had proposed a charge of €400 per annum, which was high.

The idea of setting up Irish Water as a stand-alone water utility company was Fine Gael’s. Until then, water distribution and management was run by the (then) 34 local authorities. There were very different standards and practices across the country.

However, Fine Gael’s opponents believe the setting up of Irish Water was a precursor to privatising water services.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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