Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE GOVERNMENT’s BEING rounded upon by the opposition over this morning’s water charges announcement.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny confirmed to the Dáil this morning that the annual bill for houses will be around €240, with a standing charge of around €50.
But he admitted nothing had been “signed off on” following the a Cabinet meeting on the issue this morning.
One Minister described this morning’s discussions at the Cabinet table as “robust” after details of how much consumers can be expected to pay for water were widely reported in the media this morning.
Here’s what Fianna Fáil‘s environment spokesman, Barry Cowen, has been saying:
This has descended into a complete farce. Fine Gael and Labour have spent months dodging questions about just how much people will be forced to pay for their water.They have gone as far as to claim that they’ve never even discussed the issue at Cabinet.
Now we have to find out from media reports how many showers we can have, how many times we can use our washing machine and how many times we can brush our teeth before we start clocking up charges.
[...] The Government needs to come clean about water charges once and for all. Instead of leaking selectively to the media, they need to communicate directly with households about the charges they will face in just six months’ time.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams says the levy is unfair and unjust. Here’s what he had to say during Leader’s Questions…
Taoiseach, yesterday I raised with you the issue of Water Charges, which is causing deep concern to householders across the state.In your reply to me you said the Government had not taken a decision; that various matters had to be taken into consideration; and that there was a need to assess a whole range of issues before any decisions could be made.
You then pulled together an unscheduled Cabinet meeting and sent your spin doctors off to the media to give details of the decision that you told the Dáil you had not taken.
Taoiseach, this is but the latest in a whole series of major decisions in which your Government has bypassed this Dáil in favour of governing by press release and media spin.
On each occasion the Government has shown contempt for the Oireachtas, for the Opposition and for the citizens who your decisions will affect.
The fact that you called a special cabinet meeting to deal with this issues is down to the manner in which the Opposition here has pursued you.
It is clear that your desire was to kick to touch on this issue. You govern by making it up as you go along.
What is very clear now is that there will indeed be a standing charge as part of the Water Charge.
Paul Murphy of the Socialist Party‘s laying his criticism at the door of the Labour Party…
The lack of agreement between the government parties on the water tax is a sign of the pressure that the Labour Party in particular are under.This is obviously because they are now aware from canvassing of the anger against this water tax, and the anger at the betrayals of the Labour Party in government.
It would suit the Labour Party to put the water tax out of sight until after the elections.
This disagreement cannot be used as a smokescreen to cynically hold back on the size of the tax people will face until after the elections.
Campaign groups have also been critical of the estimated charge. Here’s the take from older people’s organisation Active Retirement Ireland…
This government already has a bad track record when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable in society and the lack of clarity around the upcoming water charges is causing anxiety among older people, families with low incomes and people with special needs.We are calling on the Government to acknowledge ability to pay as a measure when calculating water charges.
There is no way a widow living alone, or a family with no breadwinner, should be paying the kind of figures we’ve seen mooted in the press in recent weeks.
If the annual standing charge is assessed per household, then it will disproportionately affect older people who live alone, with only the Living Alone Allowance of €7.70 to help them meet this extra cost.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Let’s be honest it doesn’t take all that much,to make the Catholic Church look ridiculous.
Next time you hear of one of those terrible tragedies that have become all too common in the new Ireland, remember that it is usually the local priest who is doing the heavy lifting and comforting relatives not the social services (overtime rates apply at weekends) and certainly not the happy clickers of online forums who are usually too busy parading their own righteousness to be bothered actually doing anything for their neighbours (motto: do what I say not what I do).
Great bravery. Hard to believe condoms were only legalised here in 1985.
Was it not 92/93??
June Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Act 1993 is enacted. Condoms are no longer defined as a contraceptive and can therefore be deregulated. This means that there are virtually no restrictions on where condoms can be sold or supplied, including vending machines. The Act also removes any age limit on buying condoms.
The Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Act, 1985 meant you could at least get them without a prescription. Anyway, my point is more, brave women
Without a prescription but only if you were above the age of 18 and only in certain places where they could still refuse to sell you the product (chemist is a fine example of this).
it wasn’t until 1993 that you could buy them easily like now.
The situation broke down as:
July, 1979 – Health (Family Planning) Act 1979 is enacted under Charles Haughey, Minister for Health. The Act legalises contraception but specifies that contraception, including condoms, are only available on prescription from a doctor and the doctor must be satisfied that the person is seeking the contraceptives for bona fide family planning purposes. This is largely interpreted to mean that only married couples are legally entitled to access contraception.
September, 1983 – Dr Andrew Rynne is fined £500 for selling 10 condoms to a patient. This was the first case to be taken under the (Health) Family Planning Act 1979.
March, 1985 – The Health (Family Planning)(Amendment) Act 1985 is enacted under Barry Desmond, Minister for Health. The Act allows for the sale of condoms and spermicides without a prescription to people aged 18 and over. However, condoms can only be sold in chemists, doctors’ surgeries, health boards, family planning clinics and hospitals providing maternity services or treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
May, 1990 – IFPA is convicted by the District Court selling condoms without a license in the Virgin Record Store. A fine of £400 imposed.
February, 1991 – On Valentine’s Day, the IFPA appeals against the conviction for the illegal sale of a condoms in a Virgin Megastore in Dublin. A week later Judge Hanrahan rejects the appeal and increases the fine to the maximum under the law of £500 for a first offence. Richard Branson, Millionaire CEO of Virgin Megastores, testifies on behalf of the IFPA. Irish rock band U2 steps in to pay the fine on behalf of the IFPA.
July, 1992 – Jul Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Act 1992 is enacted. The Act lowers the age at which a person can buy condoms from 18 to 17 without a prescription. Condoms can be sold outside of pharmacies but not in vending machines or areas where young people under 17 are unsupervised.
June, 1993 – Jun Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Act 1993 is enacted. Condoms are no longer defined as a contraceptive and can therefore be deregulated. This means that there are virtually no restrictions on where condoms can be sold or supplied, including vending machines. The Act also removes any age limit on buying condoms.
Hard to believe that men still control women through an outdated constitution….
let’s recognise that thanks in part to these brave women Ireland became better place. aknowledge that they were ahead of their time, instead of arguing about exactly how much so.
Those women did trojan work.
The French finally got letters in Ireland that day!
When we look around at all the women (and young girls) “forced” to cover in black tents wandering our streets in 2015 (with thousands more on the way) it really does make on wonder if we are going backwards in terms of women’s rights!
@catholic church “Don’t F**K with Irish mammies”
Or Irish women that don’t WANT to be Mammies :)
is it bash the Catholic religion this week at the journal ?
when is it not!!
@AlanH – I’m not particularly religious but I agree with your sentiment. To highlight and ridicule what was an accepted norm – and almost 50 years ago – is a bit much. Attitudes move on, and they have. No big deal (unless you’ve something to plug).
Since when is reporting historic fact bashing the church? And really, can there be anything more ridiculous than banning condoms?
If any of the above commentators, have something to say in defence of the Catholic Church and specifically this article, then I’m all ears or eyes in this case.
My comment has nothing to do with the Catholic Church, it’s more about the absurdity of targeting what were then social norms. These women were in the minority 50 years ago. Like I say, we’ve moved on a long time since.
Alan do you think it had nothing to do with the Catholic Church?
These articles shine a light on the extraordinarily severe attitudes and extremist views of the official institution of the Roman Catholic Church and how it can interfere in politics and law making, fo the bad. This puts into contact the 8th Amendment and the strong recent opposition of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church to same sex civil marriage.
It also helps to show that the institution of the Roman Catholic Church, although often a supporters of measures which repressed women, was more than tolerant of male clerical child sexual abuse.
It is no harm at all to emphasise the fiscal role of the Roman Catholic Church because it remains relevant, perhaps less so, but still relevant today. Witness the Pope’s private audience with the Court Clerk who refused to issue same sex civil marriage certificates.
Let’s target the Germans about all the Nazi crimes next week. And maybe the British the week after. Never forget the past on journal.ie.
I’m looking forward to any article, that defends Catholicism in general, present or past.
for over 80 years since the foundation of the state, the Catholic church has bashed the citizens of this country, sometimes literally, every single day. I say we should have Catholic church bashing every day for the next 80 years to redress the balance. the state also needs to move against the church to seize their assets as the church refuses to honour it’s comittments regarding compensation to its victims.
hardcore Kerry gaa, it is important to remember the past cos unless you do your doomed to repeat it. the world is a dangerous place, we have now got Russia bombing Syria and the news has it that some of their bombs crashed in Iran, what’s it going to take for this to escalate and more countries drawn in.
Its a bit too early in the morning for popcorn.
Hardcore – yeah, there is never any Britain bashing in Ireland or in the Journal, perish the thought. It is right to ridicule the ridiculous and much of the church’s influence on Ireland has been ridiculous. Would you prefer to go back to a time when it was also routine for Irish mothers to have a dozen or more children?
Home Rule or Rome Rule how right the Unionists were 100 years ago
Do you call it Bashing ISIS week on Sky news? Every week they say something bad about them after all.
Stephen defends them for what exactly? Indoctrinating children before they can think? holding a monopoly on our schools? Blocking peoples human rights? Homophobia? Protecting paedophiles? Travelling around Africa giving starving children Bibles and Rosary beads instead of food??
True, but let’s not take lectures from unionists on inclusivity from 1920-98..
Dermot, more of your anti catholic bigoted rubbish.
You mean the Treaty of Rome I would believe as it is Euro rule now?
“is it bash the Catholic religion this week at the journal ?”
The poor Catholics, always crying victim. You should pray to your god to be less whiny, thanks in advance.
A practicing catholic calling someone else a bigot? You couldn’t make it up!
Dermot – ah they could make it up, sure the whole thing is made up, they love made up things.
it shows the absurdity of the state and it’s obsession with control of your daily life, and of course the public servants the customs officers and the police just blindly following orders at the behest of the church. independent thinking is discouraged, now yesterday we have the riot squad with batons drawn called in to move a group of children having a sit down protest against James Reilly who hasn’t the courage to meet the very people who’s policys his dictats effect. instead he slithered away in a garda car.
So, this ‘article’ is actually a long advert for a play then?
Yes is that okay with you? You and I, along with many others, seemed to have read all the way to the end so we can’t have minded that much. In fact I suspect I’m already over it.
Made the Irish state look ridiculous? Nah… that’s impossible. …….. isn’t it? ???
and the church still has great control over our children , another ” social norm ” , https://www.change.org/p/the-irish-parliament-and-government-support-the-schools-equality-pact-end-state-funded-religious-discrimination-in-schools?recruiter=59739547&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink
Down the line when a few jihadis get in control..We will own the women again…ahhhhh it’ll be great.
you would rather them chained to the kitchen sink eh Larry? ?
No, that is a silly idea, however the notion of woman the hero that is perpetuated by many feminists has led to unrealistic demands on women to (for example) hold down two careers – a work career and a home career (rearing chilldren). This puts a lot of pressure on working mothers
Buying a packet of condoms and taking a two hour train journey, drinking tea and gossiping the afternoon away.
Heroic.
Truly heroic.
If you’re a Western corporate feminist i.e.
In fairness Tommy this was feminism doing something useful for everyone…
Well, someone had to do something!
Besides all this, it’s a great piece of musical theatre. I had the pleasure of seeing it last week. I highly recommend it.
Only unrealistic if you assume the child rearing is only the responsibility of mothers. If childcare is shared, then both parents can have a career and take their family responsibility seriously .
Perhaps that was the beginning of the ‘woman the hero’ mindset. When the Irish mammy, became the Irish mummy and a new industry in ‘childcare’ began.
feeling threatened much Larry?
No not much Dermot, you ?
The start of the fall of all morals.
“The start of the fall of all morals.”
Oh for christs sakes :-)
I have a bit of a headache from seeing all this propaganda, you see.
I’ll try to be more articulate in the future, my friend.
We never had to get on a train to make the Catholic Church and the Irish state look ridiculous’
Ah I can picture the scene, armed guards surrounding a ‘rocking’ car.Sargent produces the bullhorn… “Step out of the vehicle, we have reason to believe yer in possession of an illegal item, namely a condom”….
Tasty bit of self advertising for the playwright
And yet the Feminists are now in league with the religious orders in Ruhama in trying to criminalise prostitution customers. Feminists used to be about liberating women but it’s leaders now want to control women’s bodies. I think the religious orders are infiltrating feminist movements
The Willy Wonka version lol…
have your say