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Updated: 12.07
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The issue of water charges is dominating headlines again this morning.
Today the Cabinet is expected to discuss legislation that would allow water charges to be deducted from people’s wages or social welfare payments.
Under the new law, the threat of jail for non-payment of general debt bills, including those from Irish Water, will be removed. The proposals are based on recommendations made by a Law Reform Commission report in 2010, which advised attachment orders be applied to earnings.
The departments of justice and the environment have been working on the legislation. Separately, Alan Kelly’s department is looking into the issue of tenants who refuse to pay Irish Water bills.
The charges are €160 per year for a single-adult household and €260 for houses with more than one adult. Households are eligible for a conservation grant of €100 from the department of social protection.
A minimum threshold is expected to apply to social welfare payments so large amounts cannot be taken out. The government has always said it will distinguish between those who can’t pay and those who won’t pay.
Penalties for non-payment will not apply until next summer – after the general election.
Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty told Morning Ireland removing the threat of jail is the right decision, however he said the government would be “silly” to think the move will “get rid of the huge public anger” about water charges.
In a statement released this morning, Independent TD Mattie McGrath said the government is likely “pre-emptively moving to avoid the political nightmare of having to jail struggling debtors, thereby confirming its image as debt collectors for the European banks and bondholders”.
Speaking on his way into the Cabinet meeting, Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin said the new law was “a good idea”.
I think we’re all concerned about people going to jail for two hours for not paying their TV licence and so on. For general debt – whether it’s for the local plumber or the local electrician who can’t collect his debt – there should be some provision that that can be collected, and water obviously falls into that category.
Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesperson Niall Collins weighed in on the issue this afternoon, saying it was “a very cynical move by the government”.
“Effectively it’s a manoeuvre to shore up Irish Water,” Collins said, adding that it was “a step too far” to take the charge from people’s social welfare payments.
When you consider that a social welfare payment is the safety net which people have to live on and exist on when they fall on hard times or when they’re out of work, you can’t have a situation that because of inability to pay that the State is going to go after their very meagre social welfare payment.
Collins added that Fianna Fáil does not encourage people to break the law by not paying the charge.
With the anti-water charge movement saying tens of thousands of people will boycott their bills, it will be interesting to see what effect the new measures may have on registration and payment.
The Cabinet is due to reconvene this evening to discuss the proposals.
Right-to-die campaigner Tom Curran told us several TDs and Senators are willing to break party ranks to support his bill on assisted suicide.
The legislation is expected to be debated in the coming weeks.
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“AROUND 3,000 PEOPLE rallied in Glasgow today” that’s a pitiful size for a march, you’d need a protest about 20 times bigger than that to carry any weight.
All the Celtic fans were in Dublin.
Why don’t they just march for independence?
They had their chance and they blew it!
If you’re talking about the ScotNats, yes they blew it. The majority who voted NO are being ignored time and time again by Saint Nicola and her single-issue party.
Harry – you do seem fine however with Saint Nigel and his single issue party ;-)
Bottlers
It would not be in Ireland’s interest for there to be an Independent Scotland. With the removal of the UK from the EU, the one plus point is the transfer of some UK based business to other parts of the EU, including Dublin. The last thing we want is Glasgow and Edinburgh vying for that business too! An Independent Scotland would also compete with Ireland for future foreign direct investment. From a competitive perspective, a unified UK is the best option for Ireland.
Exactly right George. A weakened UK outside the single market is in Irelands best interest. Sounds harsh but let’s not fool ourselves – the Brits were happy to impose economic sanctions on us from the 1930′s to the 1950′s during the so called “economic war” with the UK so we need to look out for ourselves.
Fred – please highlight, copy and paste any post I’ve made either in this article or in any others where I’ve made even the remotest indication of support for Farage, Boris, UKIP, Brexit or English nationalism. In your own time.
It was lack if Scotts who came out and voted in EU ref which is why the No side one.
Jusr over 60% turned out, if it has been 75-85% they would still be in the EU. The same with NI under 59% turnout.
Was over 70% in England and Wales. It was 85% in Scot Ind ref in 2014
That’s a piss poor turn out !!
They should have put the polling booths in off licences and chippers.
When Scotland eventually do decide to go it alone, it will be on their terms. Westminster will have no more say in how things shall be done! They definitely won’t be making the mistakes that the Irish did
Well you have to consider the fact that some supporters of the SNP did not come out precisely because they wanted a ‘No’ vote to win in order to force a second referendum on independence. Indeed, there were some SNP supporters who admitted to supporting Brexit for this very reason.
A mistake to break away in the first place
@rodrigo detriano:
Yes. WE made mistakes….but we are in clear water now and doing better than Scotland or Wales..and most of England.
the Scots will reject it again because they like being controlled by their masters in London.
The Scots rejected it the last time because they saw straight through the Yes Campaign for what it was: hot air, snake oil and flag waving. It was like watching the Brexit team in tartan.
Well, as I remember, the English living in Scotland were allowed to vote in the independence referendum. Wonder what would the result be if English excluded?
@Jindrich Marz
Interestingly, there were English people in Scotland who were in favour of Scottish independence.
As I remember, the 800,000+ Scots living outside Scotland in the rest of the UK (and therefore more likely to have positive views of Unionism) were excluded from IndyRef. Wonder what the result would have been had they been allowed to vote…? See how that argument cuts both ways?
Harry, you’re getting a lot of red thumbs but I agree with your comments.
Most Scots voted “no” because the figures didn’t stack up. It was an economic decision.
And that was when the tax haul from oil revenues looked healthy. The North Sea is likely never to recover to it’s recent heights with an unprecedented downturn in exploration and production.
Couple this with the fact that previously, the voters were voting for separation within the EU. i.e free trade with England. Given the fact that this is now no longer the case, and Scotland do 65% of their trade with England, then independence is going to be costly.
At the time of the first referendum an indecent financial analysis by a respected body concluded that the best case scenario on the Scottish governments anticipations would result in a 9% increase in income tax and a VAT rate of 28%. It can only be assumed that these figures would be worse in the current circumstances.
A vote for independence would be to cut off your nose, despite your face in the most spectacular fashion.
A recent yougov poll says that the vast majority of Scottish people still don’t want independence.
Yes that is because they like being controlled by the masters in London.
@Just Some Guy
The Scots are not controlled by anyone. They have the same rights as the English, the Welsh and the people of Northern Ireland.
Scotland would last about a week on there own.
Especially with the price of Brent down by 50%.
“their own” even. Bloody scousers.
Coming from someone who can’t distinguish the difference between their and there, I think I’ll avoid taking economic predictions from you. Scotland would do just fine as an independent state.
Scotland has natural resources and politicians who care about issues rather than themselves and their high powered friends! A far better example of a country than the banana republican kip they call Ireland!!!!!!!!
Not with Clan Sturgeon at the helm. Nationalist parties as a rule can’t be trusted to piss without someone else holding their todger for them.
@james, I suspect the same was said about Ireland when we got independence from the UK
You lost guys, now grow up and get over it.
Clan Sturgeon will never get over it. Maybe in thus respect they ARE more European – hold a referendum again and again and again until they get the ‘right’ result. Mind you, once they do get the result they want watch how fast Nicola and co. will pull a Brexit and say “nothing to do with us, let someone else sort out the chaos”
I would bet my house that Northern Ireland uniting with an independent Scotland is more likely than a United Ireland in the next 50 years.
Bet it, so
I would because the Nationalists in the North would unite with the Scots far more readily than the Loyalists in the North would unite with us.
So basically…Scotland gets to unilaterally decide whether to break up the UK, but the rest of the UK isn’t allowed to take Scotland out of the EU. Gotta love Nationalist exceptionalism.
Harry – Brexit was the biggest expression of English nationalism ever. Are you ok with that particular nationalism, but not so much with other regions of the UK?
No Fred – I voted Remain. Unlike Kippers and SNP cultists I’m consistent in my distaste for nationalism.
OK they will vote for independence and get ruled by Germany sounds familiar
Stuart Kaufman’s Seven Rules of Nationalism: 1. If an area was ours for 500 years and yours for 50 years, it should belong to us – your are merely occupiers. 2. If an area was yours for 500 years and ours for 50 years, it should belong to us – borders must not be changed. 3. If an area belonged to us 500 years ago but never since then, it should belong to us – it is the Cradle of our Nation. 4. If a majority of our people live there, it must belong to us – they must enjoy the right of self-determination. 5. If a minority of our people live there, it must belong to us – they must be protected against your oppression. 6. All of the above rules apply to us but not to you. 7. Our dream of greatness is Historical Necessity, yours is Fascism.
It was not a Scottish Referendum. It was a Referendum of the United Kingdom.
Scotland has traditionally been more European in outlook than England and Wales. It is nit surprising that it voted in favour of Reamin but Scotland’s result has no legal standing.
It is not unlikely that the exit deal finally negotiated will mean that the UK will retain most p, if not all, of the current obligations but will have no say in future policy making and legislation. The U.K. will end up just having an inferior position in Europe unless the UK can collapse the E.U. , which is what many of the pro Brexit want.
I wouldn’t even say they’re ‘more European in outlook’. Most social attitudes surveys (rather than the misleading political allegiance surveys) indicate that Scots hold very similar views to their English and Welsh counterparts as far as issues like taxes, welfare and immigration are concerned. A load of SNP supporters simply backed Remain because their party backed it; Clan Sturgeon simply looked for any excuse to say ‘look, we’re different from those nasty Southerners’.
Interesting to see what happens……
The SNP are left of centre, not left wing
Our day will come!! (For the west Brits)!!!!!
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