Sir, – The attitude of Fianna Fáil towards water charges has a depressing familiarity about it. Short-term gain – longer-term pain.
Every month we're reminded of the latter, as pay cheques are raided by USC courtesy of Bertie Ahern and his colleagues' collective "bargaining". Now we're being told that the Oireachtas committee report recommendations for no charges and no meters represents some sort of victory for the people. But how is having a dilapidated water supply prone to cryptosporidium contamination a victory? Will future generations be thankful for toxins in our lakes and rivers? Will our fishing and tourism industries be grateful for algal blooms from untreated sewage? Is this not victory à la Pyrrhus?
Of course, there’s a logic behind Fianna Fáil’s stance. It works off an assumption. The assumption is based on the premise that Irish people are incapable of determining fact from fiction. That “general taxation” is a panacea to magically deliver when it’s never delivered before. That the workers of Ireland will happily foot the bill for everybody else. And that rural Ireland will be singled out for special treatment.
Come on Fianna Fáil - we’re not as dumb as we look. – Yours, etc,
SIMON FITZPATRICK,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.