Sir, – Paying towards the cost of public goods is a fundamental requirement of every civilisation. I paid my water bills.
Now I am made a fool for having done so.
Everyone who contributes to society has been made a fool by extension. It is not Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael that has been harmed by this fiasco, but Irish society.
I look forward to a future government led by those who think that public services for the whole country can be paid for without 99 per cent of the population contributing anything.
It may be a wake-up call for everyone.
– Yours, etc,
GAV ROCHE
Ballina,
Mayo.
Sir, – While I welcome Fintan O'Toole's lament (Opinion, December 6th) over his eejitry, his vision for the future of local charges omits some important details.
A “single local tax . . . that goes to local authorities” sounds like a logical idea, but one must keep in mind the track record of government in siphoning local taxes out of council budgets by reducing the block grant. Also, the water charges were not a “tax”, as the government so strongly argued in advance of the Eurostat report last year.
Many of those refusing to pay this “charge” had a long history of paying property and other local taxes. Others squinted at the tiny grey print that disappeared from the Irish Water website.
If we are to talk about fairer taxation in Ireland, perhaps we should start with a discussion about corporate tax and work our way down to flat local taxes.
Maybe then we can talk about transparency, fairness and genuinely funding local services without blinding ourselves to the reality of wealth distribution in Ireland.
– Yours, etc,
ADRIAN GRANT
Buncrana,
Co Donegal.
Sir, – Eejit or good citizen? I like to think the latter.
Yours, etc,
MICHAEL FOLEY
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.