Mayo county councillors from all sides of the house have put on record their determination to oppose any increase in water charges for non-domestic customers. Such an increase would particularly impact farmers who would face a standing charge on every water meter on their lands, and would have a particular impact on farmers with fragmented holdings.
Previously, the elected members had the council Management write to both the Taoiseach's office and relevant Minister's office for consideration of the issue, and at last Monday's meeting of the council, Fianna Fáil Councillor Damien Ryan said he had been both dismayed and annoyed by the response received.
He said: "I am dismayed by the response, to put it mildly. The Taoiseach has referred it to the Minister for Housing and as far as he is concerned, it is a foregone conclusion. As far as I am concerned, this is only beginning."
He went on to say that it could be time for public protests on the issue, saying: "Now that we are open for business again, mass meetings and gatherings will become the order of the day in relation to an unfair charge that has been attached on non-domestic users.
"We need to change tack here as public representatives, and we need to get organised, and the farming organisations and people of the county need to get behind us. The Department are not prepared to meet us, Irish Water is not prepared to meet us and they think this will go away. Well, it will not go away an we will not."
Fine Gael Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said that the councillor had requested Irish Water to come and speak to them on their concerns and they hadn't and if that continued, they should go to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities on the issue.
