Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 42:

In page 15, to delete lines 21 to 45 and in page 16, to delete lines 1 to 4 and substitute the following:“27.—Section 12 of the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1997 is amended by the insertion of a new subsection (3):

“(3) Section 4 of the Local Government (Financial Provisions) (No. 2) Act 1983, is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (1):

‘(1) Section 2 of this Act shall not apply to the following categories of persons—

(a) residents of a building vested in a Minister of the Government, a housing authority (within the meaning of the Act of 1992) or the Health Service Executive,

(b) households who, in the year in which the liability falls, if on that date are dependant on any of the following payments from the Department of Social Protection:

(i) jobseekers’ allowance, or

(ii) jobseekers’ benefit, or

(iii) one parent family payment, or

(iv) supplementary welfare allowance, or

(v) family income supplement, or

(vi) farm assist, or

(vii) old age non-contributory pension, provided the recipient is not also in receipt of an occupational pension, or

(viii) invalidity benefit, or

(ix) disability allowance, or

(x) disablement benefit, or

(xi) blind pension,

(c) persons who, in the years 2013, 2014, and 2015, is able to satisfy the relevant local authority that he or she has not been able to pay more than 75 per cent of his or her mortgage repayments in the preceding year on their residential property.”.

The purpose of the amendment is to introduce exemptions for low-income households. We established on Committee Stage, when my amendment to have the Bill poverty-proofed was rejected by the Government, that this legislation would not be poverty-proofed. Provision should be made to exempt from the payment of water charges blind and disabled persons, widows, those in receipt of non-contributory pensions, which is the lowest pension payment, and people on one-parent family payments. Single parents must manage a household on €217 per week and meet a range of costs such as paying for school buses and lunches. Even in Mrs. Thatcher's Britain, exemptions were made for those in receipt of housing benefit and those on low incomes. The legislation before us does not provide for any such exemptions.

I referred to the Government's failure to meet its commitment in the programme for Government to introduce a waiver scheme in respect of refuse collection charges. People on low incomes will be penalised as a result of this failure and penalised again if the Government does not accept the amendment or introduce some form of exemption scheme. From next week onwards, property tax bills will be posted through the letterboxes of the people with the lowest incomes in the State, including blind people, pensioners, lone parents and those in receipt of invalidity pensions. Many householders, including the working poor, are in dire straits, while others are in desperate circumstances and clinging to the edge. I appeal to the Government to accept the amendment in good faith and provide some level of protection for those on the lowest incomes. It would be shameful if the Bill were to be passed without providing some level of clarity and fairness for the poor.

As an earlier speaker noted, the Government is asking us to walk with it in the dark on this issue on the basis that something may happen in future. This debate is the big gig because the legislation before us removes the prohibition on charging for water provided in the 2007 Act. The Government is asking the House to make this change without providing any protection for the lowest income groups. Government back bench Deputies have been bleating about meeting people on low incomes in their constituencies, as I am sure they do, but it is no good listening to people or offering them soothing words. This debate provides an opportunity to put our money where our mouth is by taking action to protect such people. I appeal to Government Deputies, particularly Labour Party Members, to come up to the mark and provide protection for those whom they continually tell us they wish to protect. Rather than constantly droning on about it, they should do something by voting for the amendment.

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