Southside gears up for battle over household charge

Dublin People 14 Aug 2011

A CAMPAIGN against the introduction of a controversial new household charge has been slammed on the Southside.
The People Before Profit/Social Workers’ Party are organising mass protests to demonstrate against the introduction of a flat rate household charge of e100 on January 1, 2012.Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit warned that there will be a series of public meetings on the issue in the autumn.

“People are angry,

? he said.

“And it is an anger that will be expressed publicly.

“The Government has introduced a regressive tax that will be disproportionate to the less better off in society.

?It has been estimated that the household charge will affect 1.8 million householders nationwide. It is envisaged that it will generate e160 million in 2012.The charge was announced following a meeting between the Irish Government, the European Union and the IMF.However, the Labour Party has defended the introduction of the charge as a

“necessary evil

?.Cllr Richard Humphreys (Lab) said the new charge would fund local services such as libraries, road cleaning and public lighting.

“Like everyone else I would prefer if it was not required but unfortunately it is a necessary evil in the current economic reality,

? he said.He added:

“The charge has been carefully framed to make owners liable rather than occupiers. Social housing and houses of the elderly are included in the exemptions. Those in receipt of mortgage interest supplement and in certain unfinished estates are also exempt.

?Cllr Humphreys described moves to resist the charge as

“profoundly irresponsible and undemocratic

?. He said:

“It is undemocratic because it is undermining a lawful decision of our sovereign elected Government. It is simply not open to a tiny minority of fringe politicians to defy the law in this manner.

?However, Deputy Boyd Barrett accused the Labour Party of attempting to

“muddy the water

? in an effort to deflect from

“betrayals

? that have come into effect since they took power.He said: “The Government has reneged on promises made during the election campaign. Labour Party representatives should stop defending the Government’s decision to squander billions throughout the years.

? Cllr Mary Freehill (Lab) said the Government had no choice but to introduce the charges.

“The charges will provide an opportunity to fund local authorities,

? she said.

“To be quite frank, Brussels is forcing us into this position but right now I see no other alternatives.

?Cillian Gillespie, a member of the Socialist Party, claimed that local constituency offices have been inundated with emails and letters from the general public. He said the idea that the household charge will fund local services is

“ridiculous

? as taxpayers will be paying for services twice over. He added:

“People never had a vote on this decision because it was imposed without consultation.

“The idea that it is a necessary evil doesn’t make sense. We will fight this in the same way we fought against water charges in the 1990s.

“People are angry and campaigns and protests will demonstrate that.

Related News