12 DECEMBER 2016

ICSA rural development chairman Seamus Sherlock has said it is unconscionable that rural dwellers should be expected to pay twice for their water while others pay nothing. “It is apparent at this point that no government will directly charge people for water in Dublin, and this raises serious questions about fairness. People in rural Ireland already pay for their water through private pumps, group schemes or local authority charges. With the latest backing down on water charges by the government they are still are expected to contribute to paying towards Dublin’s water supply through taxation.”

“Such an inequitable situation cannot be tolerated and I am calling on the government to allocate tax credits to compensate those in rural Ireland who are already paying for their water. The issue of water charges has been extremely contentious up to this point, so the last thing we need to see is yet another level of unfairness introduced.”

ENDS