Water Charges Demonstration

[Pax]

I think you mean the evidence shows that privatisation is not environmentally beneficial. Water charges don't automatically lead to privatisation.

Public water consumption through "charges" might work in a post-capitalist situation, but we currently live in an EU capitalist country. Because of EU directives (not to mention Lisbon....) and despite what we may or may not think and vote locally, we must open utilities to competition and the market.

Trying to keep utilities under public control in such a scenario is naive in the extreme. Therefore, water charges = privatisation = "water charges are not environmentally beneficial"


leading to,

What's worse they'll use a false environmental argument to push the charges.

Despite the fact, that evidence shows water charges are not environmentally beneficial due to the inevitability of corporate ownership and the evidence elsewhere of a great increase in water wastage through insufficiently maintained infrastructure.

in the UK, the water companies are amongst the worst polluting offenders and water wastage has increased greatly since privatisation. The BBC had a series of Panorama programmes highlighting this.

And the demand response to water charges and price, is inelastic beyond an unrealistically high price.

Water conservation should be done through education on sustainable usage, the proper upkeep and repair of the infrastructure, participation and input in proportion to those affected by pollution, and the widespread, un-hindered, introduction of the latest technology and conservation techniques.

[Donegal55]

It's a tax too far. There are many people out there who already pay management fees for the apartment where they live, which can be a very substantial annual outlay. Now another big bill for water on top of this as well as a potential property tax! I agree with wysiwyg: The middle classes are being totally fu*ked over by this government.

Most self-respecting home owners spend more than the mngt charges on maintaining their properties so forget that line.

Water charges will initially be a fixed fee pending putting in the meters, it will be c 1,000 per annum so as the meters can be paid for.
However I agree with u that is the middle classes that will be screwed as the list of exemptions will be very widely spread.

[lostexpectation]

'the commission told us to do it', as ff washes their hands of it

[bluefish]

No doubt the feckers will be planning Air Tax next.

Afterall someone has to keep our beautiful emerald isle full of clean air.

No doubt Gormo is seeking a way to implement that next.

[turdsl]

SF will certainly be a quandary over this one. After all, it is an SF minister, Conor Murphy, who has agreed to implement water charges in the North, albeit that they are delayed for one year. People in the North already pay rates on their homes which are supposed to cover the costs of water among other things. Soon they will be paying twice.
Will the organisation in the South support or oppose water charges?
- Oppose them and leave their northern colleagues in the soup, or
- Agree with them (on the basis that an SF minister has already decided to implement their introduction and he can't be left out on a limb) which will definitely cause problems for many of their members, not to mention their voters.

Gerry and co might have to call another meeting!!!

Water charges are ok if the people had not bee bled dry already, if the government think
the can insult the people, ask them to vote for Lisbon, raise their VHI bring back rates after bribing the electorate by getting rid of them,On Top of bailing out corrupt bankers,corrupt
developers,corrupt politicians,They really insult our intelligence.

[turdsl]

'the commission told us to do it', as ff washes their hands of it

Mary Hanafin said exactly that as regards water in schools two years ago.

[greengoose2]

Now so far this thread is a terrible read! What escapes the majority of the great unwashed here is that all this taxation is necessary to pay for gross inefficiency. This inefficiency was started in far off distant days by Fianna Fail with their "jobs for the boys" schemes.

It is or rather, was a form of vote buying and the good old "I'm All Right Jack" brigade saw it as a truly great idea. Handouts if you will, something for nothing or the stroke. Now we all know that there is nothing free in this world, not even lunches. Everything has to be paid for sooner or later. The Irish model is that the grandchildren and their offspring will pay for what was squandered by the Fianna Fail induced greed!

To put it simply, the current Irish Nation is lazy and inefficient. They do not morally earn what they are being paid. When you see corpo workers breast feeding shovels or civil servants being dopey behind the hatches you may wonder how this can be. When you see shoddy workmanship in the building trade you may also wonder.

Stop clapping yourselves on the back for being hard working, welcomming, friendly, helpful and happy go lucky because you certainly are not. You pay foreigners to do the dirty work while you have delusions of grandeur on you higher intellectuel skills.

This monstrosity was created by inept politicians and it is now far too late to take the lollipop from the child. A truly false economy in every sense of the word.

Finally, if the inefficient water inspectors could locate the myriad leaks in the piping system and have the equally inefficient "workers" dig up the pipes and replace them with some more modern stuff there would be far less water waste. The system is like a sieve...

[Factorem]

Now so far this thread is a terrible read! What escapes the majority of the great unwashed here is that all this taxation is necessary to pay for gross inefficiency. This inefficiency was started in far off distant days by Fianna Fail with their "jobs for the boys" schemes.

It is or rather, was a form of vote buying and the good old "I'm All Right Jack" brigade saw it as a truly great idea. Handouts if you will, something for nothing or the stroke. Now we all know that there is nothing free in this world, not even lunches. Everything has to be paid for sooner or later. The Irish model is that the grandchildren and their offspring will pay for what was squandered by the Fianna Fail induced greed!

To put it simply, the current Irish Nation is lazy and inefficient. They do not morally earn what they are being paid. When you see corpo workers breast feeding shovels or civil servants being dopey behind the hatches you may wonder how this can be. When you see shoddy workmanship in the building trade you may also wonder.

Stop clapping yourselves on the back for being hard working, welcomming, friendly, helpful and happy go lucky because you certainly are not. You pay foreigners to do the dirty work while you have delusions of grandeur on you higher intellectuel skills.

This monstrosity was created by inept politicians and it is now far too late to take the lollipop from the child. A truly false economy in every sense of the word.

Finally, if the inefficient water inspectors could locate the myriad leaks in the piping system and have the equally inefficient "workers" dig up the pipes and replace them with some more modern stuff there would be far less water waste. The system is like a sieve...

^ Green Party official line.