Sir, – Ireland has for many years been skilled in the art of making people pay for a service three times over. Classic examples are health care (health levy, VHI and hospital charges), television (licence fee, advertising on RTÉ and the fee to NTL/UPC for something watchable) and now refuse collection (general taxation, local authority charges and the household charge). Water will shortly be added to the list. Owners of septic tanks will find themselves deeply in the mire.
This trend has now advanced to the emergency services. There has long been a charge for the ambulance service. We are now to pay directly should we be foolish enough to call the fire brigade. (We’ve already paid twice and anyone who claims that this will not cost lives is either a fool or a knave!) The logical progression is to extend the charge for use to all emergency services. The most obvious and immediate candidate is the Garda Síochána.
Given the planned programme of station closures, revenue is clearly needed. A charge for Garda services would also result in a dramatic reduction in the crime rate, well the reported crime rate at least. The RNLI does not make a direct charge, and deserves our respect and support for it. – Yours, etc,