THE likelihood of water charges being introduced gathered more weight when councillors were presented with a draft of the Shannon River Basin Management Plan 2009-2015.
Members of the council’s Environmental Strategic Policy Committee had objected to Section 5.24 which recommends the introduction of a charge for water and when the issue came before the full council for their approval, Mayor Kevin Kiely recommended that the Shannon River Basin Management Plan be adopted, with the exception of the section that recommends water charges.
“We could delete Section 5.24 of the plan – water charges will not be allowed,” he said.
Stressing that at no stage were water charges discussed at meetings of the Board of the Shannon River Basin Management Plan (of which he is a former chairman), Cllr Jim Long said:
“I’ve heard that a submission came in recommending charges but as chairman of the committee, I saw no such submission but then the committee was wound up prematurely. I will not sign off on this”.
Mayor Kiely said that while the council could not reject the entire Shannon River Basin Management Plan, he is not in favour of water charges being introduced.
“But we can reject that part that refers to charges,” he said.
Reminding his colleagues that the Plan is fundamentally about water control, Cllr Joe Leddin said the entire Labour Party is opposed to water charges, but that it is the local authorities that will decide the issue.
Making the point that there are numerous houses in St Mary’s Park without water, Cllr Maurice Quinlivan said that people pay for water through their taxes.
Cllr Diarmuid Scully suggested that millions could be saved if, instead of installing new water metres in houses, the local authorities replaced the Victorian lead pipes with up-do-date piping
Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon, who opposed the attempt to introduce water charges back in 1991, said that the focus should be on the conservation of water rather than charging for it.
“There would be huge cost associated with the installation of metres in houses”.
The city manager, Tom Mackey, reminded the councillors that it is their “reserve function” to accept or reject the report.
“I understand that other local authorities have accepted the plan subject to the deletion of reference to water charges.
“However if it is rejected, I am obliged to adopt it before May 15”.
