Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

If I decide not to pay, as I am going to, that will be based on a decision I take with my family in the knowledge that I may face fines and a further tax of €2,500. I will stand with others of like mind and I will organise alongside those who take a similar stance but I am not going to encourage people to act without knowing the full facts.

This tax is unfair and our pre-budget submission has shown it is not necessary. While the household charge will not break the bank for many, it will be the last straw for thousands of families. It is only a matter of time before the fines are deducted at source from pay and social welfare cheques once the relevant legislation is introduced. The cumulative effect of several Fianna Fáil-Green Party-Independent Government budgets, along with last week's vicious Fine Gael-Labour Party budget, means that concurrent payments have been abolished, rent supplement has been reduced and community employment schemes and fuel allowances have been slashed. These cuts impact on the limited incomes of those who depend on social welfare. They are now being asked to pay a further €100 this year.

We have no idea what will happen to this charge in future budgets. The Government intends to follow the household charge with water meters but it could achieve greater savings by preventing water wastage in the distribution network. International evidence suggests that household meters may reduce water usage by 16%, whereas the Comptroller and Auditor General found that local authorities are losing more than 40% of their water supplies through the distribution network. Instead of investing where it counts, the Government proposes to spend almost €1 billion on household meters. In the meantime, it is cutting expenditure on vital remedial works by 12% or more. The budget for water services investment has been cut by €60 million this year, which will exacerbate the legacy of under funding mains rehabilitation. Local authorities and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government have routinely failed to spend the money allocated to them in the past but the funds were not diverted to local authorities which were willing to spend and had greater need. For example, in 2010, the Department failed to spend approximately €140 million of the money allocated to it. That should have been diverted to Dublin City Council or other councils that had a greater need. The Government has stated that it intends to borrow €500 million, paying it back over a period of time at a cost of €1 billion, for water meters. It is committing money for non-vital household meters, yet it has not made available the €10 million or €20 million that would be required to secure the Vartry tunnel, which supplies 20% of the water in this city and which is facing collapse at any moment. That is the level of regard the Government has for the welfare of our citizens, and that is the context in which this regressive tax is being introduced.

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