Galway meeting to launch new drive against water charges

A fresh drive against the water charges is being launched at a public meeting in Galway tonight (Tuesday) amid a backlash against Irish Water who are seeking highly personal information from householders.

The ‘We Won’t Pay’ campaign comes to Knocknacarra with an information session planned to give householders facts about what can drive up the charges and why they should resist sending back the forms signing up for water charges and applying for any free water allowances.

The campaign will highlight some statistics they believe bolsters their case against the charges, which are to begin next month

According to a Unilever study, an eight-minute shower per day will cost each person €180 per year. A Department of Environment study has found that a home with four adults will run up a bill of €908. Ten flushes of the toilet per day will cost €150 per year and a Global Water Intelligence Annual Tariff Survey September 2011 stated the Western European average per 1,000 litres of water was less than €2, we will pay €4.88.

Conor Burke, Galway spokesman for We Won’t Pay, said the threat of reducing people’s pressure if they did not pay was an empty one.

“They can’t switch your water off and if they wanted to reduce the pressure that would have to be done at the stopcock, house by house. They’re talking about bringing in a pressure reducing device but how would that be feasible when they don’t have enough manpower to even install all the meters,” he queried.

“They are saying you won’t get your free water allowance if you don’t send back the forms. But if people take a chance and don’t pay initially to see how the movement develops, they could always pay retrospectively – and apply for the allowances retrospectively – if it falls flat. Yet if thousands do it, the water charges will never work.”

The campaigners insist the charge is nothing more than a new charge to pay off bank debt.

Tonight’s meeting takes place in the Knocknacarra community rooms attached to Joyce’s Supermarket at 7pm. Further meetings are planned throughout the month.

Read more in this week’s Connacht Sentinel