Protest Against Water Charges

by non-payer - WWPC Wed Apr 02, 2008 12:06

Legal bombshell causes funding crisis for Northern Ireland Water

The long-running controversial plan to introduce water charges has taken a dramatic new twist after a Department of Finance Personnel official has admitted that water charges cannot be collected through the rates on behalf of Northern Ireland Water Ltd.

Brian McClure, Head of Rating Policy Division at the Department of Finance & Personnel in a written response to a request from anti-water charges campaigner Gary Mulcahy of the We Won’t Pay Campaign states ‘LPS (Land & Property Services) is not equipped nor are the necessary contractual and legal arrangements in place to allow it to collect revenues on behalf of a private company at this particular point in time.’ Northern Ireland Water Ltd., the company established last April to run the water service is owned by the Department for Regional Development, but its legal status is a private company.

The decision of the Northern Ireland Executive to itemise water charges on domestic rates bills in April could now be reversed at the last minute causing a potential funding crisis for NI Water. It also raises serious questions over how water charges could be collected next year.

Gary Mulcahy explained ‘The Executive had hoped that by introducing additional water charges through the rates, on top of what we already pay, people would reluctantly accept the charge. But it now seems they cannot go down that road. The rates cannot be used to collect revenue on behalf of private companies.’

‘The We Won’t Pay Campaign is demanding the parties in the Executive should completely scrap water charges. They claimed to oppose water charges during the Assembly elections but have decided to impose them next year. They also claim to be opposed to privatisation of the water service, but private companies such as Thames Water are now running water treatment facilities. We are calling on the public to join our protest in Belfast city centre on Saturday 5th April 1pm at Castle Place to demand the scrapping of water charges and the return of the water service fully into public ownership democratically run in the interests of people, not for profit.’

by young socialist Wed Apr 09, 2008 00:38

Not able to make the protest at the weekend. How did it go any pictures? Also any chance of Gary putting the letter on line sounds like it will make interesting reading.