RURAL groups campaigning for the abolition of the remaining domestic water charges intend to put up candidates in the general election.
Sources in the major political parties have predicted that water charges, paid by 75,000 subscribers to private group schemes, will become an issue in the election in a number of rural constituencies. The controversial charges were raised at a meeting of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party yesterday.
The National Federation of Group Water Schemes, formed to lobby the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, to remove the charges which he has already abolished in urban areas, is to launch a nationwide campaign to get rid of what it terms "an antirural policy". Some 170 group water schemes have registered their support for the federation.
County federations are to be established in the next two weeks and they will nominate delegates to attend a special national convention of group water schemes in Athlone.
Following the abolition of water and sewerage charges in urban areas last December Mr Howl in announced an extension of the free services to rural areas where group schemes source water from local authorities.
He proposed that householders receiving water from totally private sources should avail of an £18 million package so that their schemes could be taken over by local authorities. However, the new national federation is resisting the idea of allowing local authorities to take over the schemes.