Household charge: the final countdown
Mary Minihan
The deadine of midnight on Saturday is looming. It’s no exaggeration to say the household charge issue has been the first test of the Government’s authority, and it’s been fascinating to see readers’ judgements of the Coalition in the huge response to this blog.
It’s clear that many readers share the view expressed in The Irish Times editorial this morning: “Implementation of a household charge has been marred by confusion and incompetence”. Responses have ranged from the short but far from sweet - ”Not paying. Emigrated instead,” says Bryan – to the deeply philosophical. On a practical level, many apartment dwellers point out that they are already paying handsomely for management fees. Lots of readers are suspicious about where exactly the money will go. It is clear that many people are incredibly frustrated by the way the country has been run in the past and is being governed at present. Simple inability to pay €100 upfront comes up again and again, while lots of responses express a fear that the amount will escalate in the coming years.
Some say they have paid grudgingly, giving an impression that they were bowing to the inevitable, while a few call on others to “grow up” and accept the need to put a property tax in place. Incidentally, some posters who paid online tell us that they had no problem filling out the form, indicating that particular issue was perhaps a bit of a red herring.
“We have no other way of registering our protest,” one poster says. As our editorial looking forward to the Fine Gael Ard Fheis this weekend puts it: “The Taoiseach should be very afraid.”
Please continue to let us know your attitude to the household charge.
