This morning.
Leinster House, Government Buildings, Dublin 2
TDs, including Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin, Catherine Murphy, co-leader of the Social Democrats and Richard Boyd Barrett hold a press conference reacting to the Final Draft Report of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services.
The final recommendations include refunds for householders who paid their charges, the funding of domestic water services through general taxation, and the installation of meters at apartment blocks.
However…
….these recommendations have resulted in a bitter political row between Fine Gael which is opposed to them, and Fianna Fáil, Sinn Fein and Solidarity, who support them.
FIGHT!
Water charges: FG does not have to act on report, says Varadkar (Irish Times)
Rollingnews
Update:
Speaking at the #Right2Water press conference earlier ahead of committee vote & #Apr8 demo. "This was a people's movement from the start" pic.twitter.com/Yojt0yFNOY
— Catherine Murphy (@CathMurphyTD) April 6, 2017
G’wan Catherine.
Good to see Hipster Hitler having a little laugh with M&S Man Boyd Barrett.
blushirt shills unhappy their privatisation plans are screwed..
For now. Wait till Leo is Taoiseach.
Jesus Christ mate, give it a rest will ya, every day with the same horsepoop. You don’t particularly like Fine Gael, big swingin male appendage, who fuppin does? Why don’t you step outside the bunker for a while, you may just avoid the aneurysm you’ve been workin on
Fine Gael : The flip flopping, U-turning, backtracking Party.
A scare mongering move regarding fines from Europe for water. Even if it were true they’re quite happy to pay the yearly fines for lumping VRT onto new cars?
What annual fines? Never heard of this.
– they don’t exist; VRT is common in EU countries.
Have you a link to that Rob?
State ignorance of vrt eu regulations and resultant fines;
https://www.google.ie/amp/www.thejournal.ie/vrt-cross-border-cars-3267723-Mar2017/%3Famp%3D1
Certainly; here you go – http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/registration/taxes/index_en.htm
-did you even read your own link? It specifically refers to temporary stays.
Rob your link is about registering a car abroad and has nothing to do with vrt, my link highlights the hypocrisy of the state whining about keeping with eu regulations whilst at the same breaking them and incurring any resultant fines..
My bad, you’re correct about similar taxation in other eu countries, however this is considered a double taxation and illegal in Europe.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_tax_(Ireland)#Criticisms
Your link doesn’t say that, and it isn’t true.
There have never been fines levied on Ireland for the existence of VRT.
I came to the comment section to see options on the matter as I simply don’t have one. I could not give a stones which party agrees to what. Just sort it out, then come back to us with the agreed plan…. one that sees water for all, paid for by all.
We already have that system, Own, since the foundation of the State.
no, only some people get fresh water to their house. But everyone pays for that.
If you’re rural, you pay through general taxation for urban people’s water, and pay privately for your own.
Yes this annoys me
But then I remember the bulk of people are in cities and they help fund the long roads to rural houses
Yeah, grand Cian – keep working that good old urban/rural, working class/middle class divide :-D. Straight out of the good old FG playbook.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/dubliners-get-up-to-50-times-less-funding-than-rural-dwellers-1.1730130
Sheik ,
I was replying to Owen’s original “water for all, paid for by all” and your reply “We already have that system”.
We don’t have that system.
Party before country. That’s the FFG way.
Jaysus. Chat away about the issues, lads: I’m just commenting on the fact we’re a fugly nation.
Treat your eyes on moi
I know what ‘treat’ means. I do not think you do.
It’s not the worst thing about the IW fiasco, but somehow after the money, the sinecures, the setbacks to conservation and infrastructural maintenance, what I can’t get over is what a stupidly colossal waste of bloody time the whole thing is as it rolls on and on without feckin end.
None of those bull faced reps are going to turn water into wine. We’ll continue to import it from Europe’s wine lake. Prost!
The same TDs will be the first to complain the next time boil water notices are issued due to our country’s unwillingness to properly finance infrastructure projects.
Furthermore, the notion that you would charge for water out of general taxation is simply preposterous. Why not extend that approach to electricity and natural gas?
@Baffler
Because it’s water.
It’s much more difficult to live without than gas and electricity. It’s kinda like a human necessity.
Furthermore, saying’ … the notion that you would charge for water out of general taxation is simply preposterous’. is simply preposterous.
Just sayin’
Food is also a human necessity – should we pay for this through general taxation, also?
…then they should remove the charge for water, and double the charge for removal of waste water.
BAffled, you can pay my water charges out of your Fine Gael salary.
The ignorance here is only gobsmacking. Yes, there’ll prolly be EU fines, and yes there’ll be a shortage of funds to maintain the infrastructure and treat our water. But is it not obvious in the extreme that water is a commodity costing us money: charge people €100 for €50 worth of water and explain the rest has leaked out and we can’t afford to fix the leaks, explain how the guy with the swimming pool, watering his 5 acres of land won’t be charged extra because da peepul wouldn’t allow meters be installed, and how our kids will resent how many different ways we can fcuk up our environment.
Why do FG want to charge for water? It’s political suicide, but it’s the right thing to do. Remember when Dukes backed the Tallaght Agreement cos it was good for the country, when he could have brought down the Haughey Administration? And then remember what happened when FF bought the electorate back in the 70’s.
+1
“explain how the guy with the swimming pool, watering his 5 acres of land won’t be charged extra because da peepul wouldn’t allow meters be installed,”
So we shouldn’t provide a public service because rich people benefit from it?
Rubbish.
“it’s the right thing to do”..
apparently not..
+1
That lot couldn’t agree on anything else but their opposition to something unpopular.
Joe, are you sitting near Baffled?
Will you tell him that I answered his question a few minutes ago?
Thanks.
+ 1
(though both FF and SF came fairly late to this party)
-1, typical sour grapes..
“I’ve cracked it! People don’t like paying taxes!”
– “But we’re left-wing. Surely we should support raising taxes to fund government-provided goods and services?”
“Shut up you fool, we’ll get telly appearances and a TD’s pension out of this, and won’t ever have to do anything!”
“I’ve cracked it! People don’t like paying taxes!”
– “But we’re right-wing. Surely we should support lowering of taxes to stimulate demand, small government and advocating the efficiency of the private sector?”
“Shut up you fool, we’ll get telly appearances and a TD’s pension out of this, and won’t ever have to do anything!”
Except that water charges are standard across the EU and OECD, regardless of right or left-wing governments. Like property charges. So your ‘clever’ twist doesn’t hold up.
Stick to trying to start fights. You have a real talent there.
“Except that water charges are standard across the EU and OECD, regardless of right or left-wing governments. Like property charges. So your ‘clever’ twist doesn’t hold up.”
I *literally* LOL’ed at that. Why don’t you toddle off and call Johnny Keenan a “tool” and a “crank” again or something. You’re not very good at the grown up debating thing. Bullying people seems to be all you know and you’re not even good at it. :D
“except that water charges are standard across EU and OECD countries with right or left wing governments”
Link to a left-wing EU country with water and property charges please Kieran
AFAIK, Ireland is unique in the EU to have neither domestic water charges nor property taxes.
There isn’t really a definition for ‘left-wing country’ – but Belgium would probably fit your criteria.
jaysus wept for liberals Kieran eh?
Christ do any of them spend their large salaries on decent clothes?
embarrassment to all concerned!
It’s a patronizing charade to convince ‘ordinary decent people’ they’re just like them.
Lol!
I always was and still am happy to pay for water on a metered basis -that way I pay for MY water -all the protestor’s have achieved is to have the burden put back on the already overburdened PAYE workers (simply amazing that so PAYE workers protested to increase their tax bill !) – Any refund I get will be donated to Focus or Simon to benefit those that have no houses in the first place
you miss the point Pat, I reckon no-one who works for a living has a problem with paying for water. I don’t, but I want general taxation to drop accordingly but I know it won’t.
Don’t forget that the original charge was the highest in Europe, we all know that once a charge is introduced it will constantly increase, so what’s your threshold? €1,000 a year, 2, 3?
Also, IW was structured so it can be sold off. No other reason.
Tell me, how many of the 120 Audi A6s bought by IW fix a leak? That’s a fleet of cars worth in excess of €6 million.
Paye rates did drop at time charges were introduced -privatise water with competition and that will keep prices down as in gas electricity food and almost everything else
pok, I can’t believe what you’ve just written.
try this -fly to say London 30 years ago cheapest fare probably £200 enter Ryanair ….well ye know the rest
Yes Pok, our private banks charge the lowest mortgage rates in Europe.
Our electricity and gas likewise
Our food and drink, well you can’t give it away
VAT, income tax, health insurance, refuse charges, apartment management fees, even the cost of funerals is lower than low.
Please run for election. you have my vote.
Now Pok off.
“Paye rates did drop at time charges were introduced”.
Really? Fake news. PAYE rates haven;t dropped in years.
pok was wrong in that it was USC that was reduced, rather than PAYE; but correct in that water charges were introduced with a corresponding reduction in income tax.
“Tell me, how many of the 120 Audi A6s bought by IW fix a leak? That’s a fleet of cars worth in excess of €6 million.”
can you provide any evidence to support this?
http://www.joeduffy.ie/audi/new-cars/a6/
€50,000 x 120 = €6,000,000
I googled “can Audi A6 cars fix water leaks”. Looks like I was right.
All joking aside, the only reference I could find for these Audis is the journal.ie comments.
What I did find was a car allowance for senior staff – 9people x €10,500
FGs defence of IW is nothing short of mental illness. They cannot possibly win as long as they keep on backing IW. Accept the loss of this battle and move on or face losing the entire war as a result.