Is confusion over water charges all part of the plan?

They've done it again. After creating a cloud of confusion around the introduction of the Local Property Tax (LPT), the Government seems intent on ensuring that we are kept in the dark for as long as possible about the full impact of water charges.

This week the issue descended into pure farce, starting with reports that a €100 standing charge would apply annually before a single drop of water leaves our taps. Within 48 hours Government sources were indicating that a figure of €50 or less was more likely.

•The installation of water meters is well underway. FILE PHOTO

Then in advance of today’s Cabinet meeting it was suggested that the average household would be charged around €248 a year for their water usage. There were all sorts of vague promises being bandied about regarding extra allowances for people with special needs and additional children, as if this was bringing a good news element to the story.

The Labour horses were spooked and started throwing their toys out of the pram, with some within the party describing the water charges proposals as “half-baked”. With the Local and European Elections little over a month away, you can understand their heightened interest in the issue. Just imagine the abuse that Fine Gael and Labour candidates are getting on the doorsteps over LPT and water charges. The ongoing uncertainty will not help their campaigns and I would have a degree of sympathy for the candidates, particularly those seeking election for the first time.

The water charges issue is a political time bomb and could well prove to be a tipping point in our fragile tolerance for austerity. The sense of injustice is compounded by the fact that there will be a standing charge in the first place. This gives lie to the fiction that water charges are mostly about conservation and responsible usage and not just another State-led money grabbing exercise.

I personally believe that the €100 standing charge rumour was a stalking horse designed to put the fear of God into us all. The fact that it is likely to be lower – at least initially – is supposed to be met with relief and make having to pay the new tax that little bit more palatable. 

 A cynic would suggest, rightly or wrongly, that the Government is deliberately setting out to cause maximum confusion. I suspect that a similar approach was taken when LPT was introduced. There was so much uncertainty created over payment methods and house valuations that it was easy to overlook the unjust and immoral imposition of a property tax as a matter of principle. Hitting mortgage holders with LPT in the wake of a spectacular property crash is akin to increasing taxes on potato farmers during the blight. 

Like many others, I filed my return last year for property tax due in 2014 and then largely forgot about it until a sizable chunk of my month's salary was sucked out of my bank account in mid-March. This was disposable income, by the way, that would ordinarily have been spent in local shops, pubs or restaurants, helping to sustain employment and keep businesses viable. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't this Government vow to tackle the jobs crisis?

Fine Gael and Labour may be telling anyone who'll listen that LPT and water charges are a legacy of the last Government and to an extent this may be true. However, this Coalition's ham-fisted handling of both issues remains nothing short of shameful. You really couldn't make this stuff up.