| €3.50 per child water tax |
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bin the bill |
Tens of thousands of litres of water leak from the mains water to the ground water every day. Children sit in drafty prefab rooms in need of repair, FF/GP/PD govt give nowhere near the cap grant they promised in May ’07 and class sizes promised to INTO in April have not happened. What does the government do in kind, tells schools they have to pay local authority water bills. I am sick of funding a broken service from outside the system (fees! Cake Sales etc). Not content to sit on the side lines and moan I joined my childrens (x3 one school) school board of management and started a 4 year term in December ’07. I aim not to be quite about it. These bills have to go and the government may follow them into the bin.
The Government faces a major new storm after it imposed a €3.50 water levy on thousands of primary pupils.
And in quietly slipping out the latest ‘stealth tax’ announcement last night, it immediately triggered widespread anger among parents and teachers.
Schools simply do not have the money to pay the planned water bills, according to primary school principals.
The Irish Primary Principals Network has protested that the new flat-rate water-charges being introduced by the Government are unfair.
Under the plan schools will have to pay €3.50 per pupil for water services this year and €4 in 2009.
A metered system will then be introduced and schools will have to pay the full cost for water use.
The Government claims it is a necessary part of the EU legislation and Minister Mary Hanafin says our schools have to meet EU water conservation levels.