No to Assembly’s Water Charges
The We Won’t Pay Campaign has succeeded in forcing the Assembly to abandon plans to impose seperate water bills for the third year in a row. This has meant that on average each household has saved £678 in postponed water charges.
The only reason this has been achieved is the mass support for non-payment of water charges which the We Won’t Pay Campaign has built over the past four years. The Assembly has had to reluctantly admit that they cannot get away with introducing a seperate water charge without being confronted with a mass boycott.
However, water charges have not been scrapped. Instead, the Assembly Executive has announced that they intend to introduce additional water charges (expected to be about £145) through the rates in April 2009 on top of what you already pay. Water charges will be phased in from April 2009 and will increase again in 2010, on top of big increases in rates. Your rates bills will NOT decrease. In effect you are still being asked to pay twice for water, no matter what the Assembly politicians say.
Private companies take-over water service
Even though the Assembly Executive says it has ‘ruled out’ privatisation, the water service has already been part-privatised through Public Private Partnership contracts. Private companies such as Thames Water now control water treatment facilities in Northern Ireland. Over £200 million will be given to these companies, while over 500 water service workers face the sack.
We already pay for water, don’t pay twice!
The Assembly states each household pays an average £160 towards water through the rates. However, the real figure is much higher. In 1999, the average household paid £127 for water and sewerage. Between then and 2006, domestic rates increased by 85%. That means the average household paid £235 for water last year in their rates. Since then rates have increased again and will massively increase after homes are re-valued in 2009/2010.
Stabbed in the back by Assembly
We have succeeded in forcing the political establishment to concede that we already pay for water. Now we must fight against a new hidden water charge being introduced through the rates. The We Won’t Pay Campaign will not swallow the lies of the Assembly Executive. We are determined to stop water charges being introduced by the back door. Our strength has come from the unity we have built across communities against water charges. The We Won’t Pay Camapign will continue to organise in all communities to campaign against the Assembly Executive introducing water charges.
Executive statement means water charges through the back door
The We Won’t Pay Campaign has reacted to today’s announcement from Minister for Regional Development Conor Murphy claiming the Executive has decided to ‘introduce water charges through the back door’ by adding a specific charge for water in the rates on top of what every household already pays for water.
Spokesperson Pat Lawlor commented “The Independent Review Panel stated that on average we already pay £160 per year for water. While we believe the real figure may actually be considerably more, it is nonetheless accpeted that we do pay for water through the rates. What the Executive has decided is that each household should pay an additional payment of £145 from April 2009 on top of what we already pay. This is clearly double taxation, and no amount of spin from the Executive can hide that fact. ‘
“The parties in the Executive have now broken their electoral promises that people should not pay twice for water. People have been stabbed in the back. In light of this we feel we have no alternative but to continue our campaign in the communities and fight this additional charge. Householders are already finding it difficult to pay increasing rates. This decision to introduce water charges through the back door will push thousands of low-income households into poverty.’
