Cheque late
some water tax refunds won’t be paid until 2018
BUNGLING Irish Water yesterday confirmed not all of its customers can expect to be refunded before Christmas.
Spokeswoman Yvonne Harris said the delay – which could see some people waiting until the new year for settlement – was because of a hold-up in legislation to issue the refunds.
She told RTE’S Morning Ireland: “Once the legislation is passed we are ready to produce and start issuing those cheques.
“Our plan is to start producing 30,000 cheques per night and we are comfortable we could increase that.
“However, there are a number of other constraints. We have to consider our governance and there are other key stakeholders, such as An Post, who will deliver the cheques, and the banks who will lodge them.”
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said in September that almost one million householders who paid water charges here would be reimbursed if legislation was enacted by mid-october. Meanwhile, Irish Water has launched an information web page to help customers apply for refunds. The refunds are due to be paid by cheque to the designated account holder at the address provided to the utility body.
Two weeks ago the Dail passed the early section of the Water Services Bill, which gave the green light for refunds to more than 990,000 householders.
Customers who have changed address since they paid the charge have been advised to contact Irish Water so the details can be updated. However, any cheques which are sent to an incorrect address can be cancelled and re-issued.
Householders whose personal details or address are the same as when they registered with the utility will get their refunds sent out automatically.
Last July Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe confirmed the refunds would cost taxpayers €178million.
The utility’s head of customer operations Eamon Gallen yesterday said: “The two big questions customers have are how much they will receive? And when they will receive it?
“They can be assured they will receive the full amount they paid and will shortly be able to check online to see exactly how much they are due and when they are likely to receive their refund.
“Our priority is to ensure those who paid their charges get their refund as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“This is why I would urge any customers who have not informed us of a change of address to do so now so that their details are up to date.”
IRISH Water is a shambles. And it’s one of the most costly shambles in the history of the State.
Even after water charges were abolished the bungling company has proved incapable of refunding those who paid their bills before Christmas – as promised by the Taoiseach.
Hopefully this will be the final fiasco involving a State company that has taken incompetence to new levels.
Irish Water was supposedly set up to deliver clean water to the public but all it delivered was confusion and chaos.
This useless utility has cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of euro and yet there has been little improvement to the supply.
Right from its inception Irish Water has lurched from one crisis to the next and the blame must be shouldered by the previous Fine Gael/labour Government.
The introduction of what was rightly seen as a water tax in the midst of the worst recession in living memory – when parents were struggling to feed their families – brought the public on to the streets.
This has been a very expensive lesson on how not to set up a public utility.
But it also highlights the danger of what happens when a government becomes totally detached from those who elected them and treats the public as fools who are only there to be fleeced.