Call for tax reliefs for group water schemes

Call for tax reliefs for group water schemes


Anton McNulty

TAX reliefs and allowances should be allocated to members of group water schemes as well as Irish Water customers, according to Mayo Fianna FΡil TD Dara Calleary.
Customers for Irish Water will be allowed certain allowances following last week’s Budget 2015, but no measures have been introduced to cater for households that are part of a group water scheme.
Deputy Calleary said households on group water schemes have been paying for their water for years without any allowances, and he believes this is an example of rural discrimination.
“The reliefs unveiled in the Budget already go nowhere near what people will actually have to pay in water charges, but they are especially cold comfort to the thousands of homes across the county whose water supply is provided by a group water scheme. These households are paying hundreds of euros a year – and in many cases have been for some years – for water services, but they will receive no allowances from the state. 
“These are families who are already to the pin of their collar, and who are being ignored by Fine Gael and Labour. I am urging the Finance Minister as part of the legislation being passed to give effect to Budget 2015 to afford group-water-scheme members the same allowances and reliefs as Irish Water customers, and end this rural discrimination, which is typical of every action this Government has been implementing since it took office,” he said.
Meanwhile, Irish Water received further criticism over the weekend when it was revealed that  householders with suspected water leaks could be facing a call-out charge of €188 from Irish Water.
An article that appeared in the Sunday Times reported that Irish Water had sought permission from the Energy Regulator to charge a minimum call-out fee for working out of office hours of €282 for the first hour and €141 for any additional hour.
Irish Water had also sought approval from the Energy Regulation to introduce a range of other charges, including a €220 fee to test water pressure and a €17 fee for a special meter reading.
Sinn Féin councillor Gerry Murray said that it is almost certain that Irish Water and the Energy Regulator intends to rigidly apply the ‘polluter pay principle’, which will mean full cost recovery regardless of the circumstances that its customers find themselves in.  
“This will have serious implications for schools, group water schemes and a range of other consumers who have serious leakage problems on their networks but lack the capital resources to fix them,” he said.