IBEC, the employer's body, has expressed alarm at what it calls the "punitive" water charges businesses have to pay. Emmet Oliver reports.
The organisation has conducted a survey of charges by local authorities between 2000 and 2004 and found significant inconsistencies. Mr Brendan Butler, director of enterprise, said businesses accepted they had to pay for water, but charges were not equitable, with householders exempt for example.
"Not only have businesses seen water charges rise to punitive levels in many areas, there is no certainty that these increases will not continue indefinitely. There is a real fear that water charges will not reflect the cost of providing the service, but will simply fill the gap between local authority revenue and spending," he said.
He said the whole area of water was governed by the "polluter pays" principle, but this was being ignored by Government and the local authorities.
"The major problem IBEC has is that the charges are inequitable as the 'polluter pays' principle is being selectively applied. The domestic sector, which is responsible for over 80 per cent of water usage, is exempt from charges. The lack of domestic charges removes the incentive for minimising water usage and is contrary to sustainable development," said Mr Butler.
Mr Butler said businesses were also aggrieved because there was little consistency between counties. "These findings are alarming," he said.
"It is difficult to understand why a business operating in Longford must pay €7.95 per 1,000 gallons of water while a similar business based in Sligo will pay €2.79 for the same amount of water. Also how can Limerick County Council increase its water charges by 135 per cent since 2000 while Cavan and Leitrim County Councils have not increased their charges over the same period," he asked.
He said the only way to tackle the issue was to review local authority funding generally. A similar call was issued yesterday by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, who drew attention to anomalies in development levies.
