Response to Government water charges announcement

antrim | worker & community struggles and protests | press release Thursday December 08, 2005 15:25 by a - We Won't Pay Campaign wewontpay at btconnect dot com

Govt annouces details of how water charges are to be introduced

- Water charges amounts to a 3% cut in income for poorest households

- 'Metering of water a cynical effort to con people'

The We Won't Pay Campaign responded to the Governments water charges announcement by stating " Peter Hain had said those on low incomes would not face hardship from the introduction of water charges. But in reality, he is introducing a 3% cut in income for those on benefits, through water charges. This is a serious attack on the 21% of the population who depend on benefits. A 3% cut in income may not sound much to well-heeled Ministers with income in excess of £100,000 a year, but for people on benefits this will push them even deeper into poverty and hardship."

Chairperson of the We Won't Pay Campaign, Ciaran Mulholland, continued to attack what he described as 'a cynical effort to con people into paying water charges by attempting to fool people into thinking that metering was a fairer option'.

'The reality is that householders already pay for water through the rates. With or without metering, water charges are a double-tax - a robbery of every household in Northern Ireland. The We Won't Pay Campaign is confident, from the mass support we are receiving, that the majority of people will refuse to pay this unjust hated double-tax on principle. We will now re-double our efforts to get every household to sign our We Won't Pay Non-Payment pledge.'