If anyone harboured any doubts about an early general election, they will have been dissipated by the knee jerk reactions from within Fine Gael to political pressure involving group water schemes. The other conclusion to be reached is that many farmers are cynically manipulating the situation to secure a further subsidy from urban tax payers. There is nothing simple or clear cut about the mechanisms for supplying water to rural communities. A complex system has gradually evolved over the past thirty years or so, involving the establishment of small and large co operative schemes, funded by a mixture of State and EU grants, topped up by local subscriptions and run on a voluntary basis. The size, quality, efficiency and cost of the schemes vary widely. It is estimated that 85,000 households in group schemes are supplied with local authority water while a further 50-60,000 have their own private water supply.
Before Christmas, the Government with a view to the general election and under pressure from Democratic Left announced the abolition of local authority water charges at a cost of £55m. Group water schemes immediately demanded parity of treatment. In February, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, announced that a further £18m would be made available to subsidise and to take over group schemes attached to public water supplies. But while water for domestic use would be supplied free of charge, the local authorities would be empowered to charge for water used for commercial and for farming purposes. No provision was made for schemes with private water supplies.
The National Federation of Water Schemes has been established to represent the interests of the 135,000 rural households involved and, in particular, of the 50,000 households connected to private water supplies. They are seeking, in addition to the £18m provided by Mr Howlin, a further £35 per household subsidy for those connected to urban mains, and £75 for own source households. Farming organisations are also beginning to lobby for the capping of water charges to non domestic users. The initial cost of the National Federation's demands would be in the region of £7m. But if all group schemes were to be taken over by local authorities and up graded to meet EU drinking water standards, the cost could run to £130m.
There is clearly a desire by farmers to receive not just free domestic water, but subsidised water for business and farmyard uses as well. It is hard to blame them. But this is not the "equal treatment for urban and rural dweller" which they claim to want. This is special treatment. Just as the failure to tax EU farm subsidies worth almost £900m a year is special treatment. It is the duty of the Government to redress obvious grievances. And nobody would deny the 50-60,000 households on private group supply schemes a subsidy to defray domestic water costs. Going beyond that would be a problem, especially at a time when public spending is already at a very high level. Fiscal rectitude seems to be a "now you see it, now you don't" concept as the election draws near. Under pressure from Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats in western and border counties, Fine Gael tried to cosy up to the National Federation by suggesting that its approach differed from that of the Department of the Environment. And it promised a change in direction at next Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. Immediately, the Opposition parties moved to exploit the situation. And the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, tried to shore up the image of a unified Government denied there were policy differences on the issue between Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Democratic Left and talked about going to the country on an agreed election platform. The Progressive Democrats described it as "pantomime politics". And the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Ahern, aptly reflected the situation when he said Fine Gael and the Government were exhibiting "all the signs of election panic".