Plastic plug to avoid metering

darkpagandeath · 27-07-2014 4:11pm #1

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/campaign-groups-urge-public-to-use-2-plastic-plug-in-water-charges-protests-637534.html

I don't condone this but, If large enough amounts of people do this surely IW wont be able to take them all to court. As it would be prohibitively expensive. They are relying on people just accepting the charge. Once you get enough people disobeying there is a tipping point. Theory would have worked with the Household charge but legislation was put in to stop that. In this case it's a civil matter and Irish water have no legislation in place to remove directly from peoples wages and so on. They have to go after the individual or block the supply to a trickle. If it does go country wide (I doubt it) what can they do.

And this is a interesting one the law they are quoting 3 months in jail or €5000 fine, What law would that be ? Tampering with meter ?

ThisRegard · 27-07-2014 4:13pm

They don't have to bring them all to court, a couple of high profile successes is all that's needed.

Phoebas · 27-07-2014 4:15pm

darkpagandeath wrote: »

it does go country wide (I doubt it) what can they do.

I think you answered your own question there.

darkpagandeath · 27-07-2014 4:16pm

ThisRegard wrote: »

They don't have to bring them all to court, a couple of high profile successes is all that's needed.

That's the thing though with civil disobedience. If they take the fines and jail then what ? People will always think it wont happen to them and continue.

Nino Brown · 27-07-2014 4:19pm

I don't think enough people would be willing to take the risk, most people are willing to pay for what they use, so I don't think it would ever reach the "tipping point"

darkpagandeath · 27-07-2014 4:23pm

Nino Brown wrote: »

I don't think enough people would be willing to take the risk, most people are willing to pay for what they use, so I don't think it would ever reach the "tipping point"

True but a lot of people have realised that if you save water, If enough people save water. Irish water will put the price up, they need to make a profit. So saving water = higher water charge. Will people accept that ?

dxhound2005 · 27-07-2014 4:27pm

Lots of people won't have a meter and will be charged on an alternative basis. If someone bypassed their meter they will be charged as if they had no meter. So they may just as well refuse to pay whatever the meter says and save themselves the bother of tampering with the meter.

kneemos · 27-07-2014 4:31pm

Your momma's so fat she has her own meter.

darkpagandeath · 27-07-2014 4:31pm

dxhound2005 wrote: »

Lots of people won't have a meter and will be charged on an alternative basis. If someone bypassed their meter they will be charged as if they had no meter. So they may just as well refuse to pay whatever the meter says and save themselves the bother of tampering with the meter.

Buy the whole argument was to meter as many as possible, And not to just randomly charge. That's what the government has said. So if you have a meter you get charged vial that. Otherwise people probably would not have stood for it at all just being a flat rate tax.

dxhound2005 · 27-07-2014 4:32pm

darkpagandeath wrote: »

Buy the whole argument was to meter as many as possible, And not to just randomly charge. That's what the government has said. So if you have a meter you get charged vial that. Otherwise people probably would not have stood for it at all just being a flat rate tax.

What people?

The Th!ng · 27-07-2014 4:34pm

I'd laugh my arse off if Phil Hogan was found dead having choked on one of these plugs.

RobertKK · 27-07-2014 4:41pm

If enough do and they don't bother treating the water, then see if people will pay...

RayM · 27-07-2014 4:45pm

That's all well and good, but is there any way of getting free electricity, gas, Sky TV, phone and broadband too? Why limit it to water charges? Gas is natural. I want free gas.

PizzamanIRL · 27-07-2014 4:48pm

How about we stop using water. Lick your plates clean. Wash in the rain. Don't cook food that needs hot water.

The Backwards Man · 27-07-2014 4:53pm

I want one of those plugs to stick up the hole of the next person that presumes the vocal minority speak for the majority.

Iwasfrozen · 27-07-2014 4:55pm

Large scale protest won't happen, most people are happy to pay for what they use and rightfully so.

IW don't need to sue everyone, just make a couple of examples out of the protesters and scare everyone else straight.

suicide_circus · 27-07-2014 4:58pm

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/809209047/butt-plug.jpg

HurtLocker · 27-07-2014 5:00pm

RayM wrote: »

That's all well and good, but is there any way of getting free electricity, gas, Sky TV, phone and broadband too? Why limit it to water charges? Gas is natural. I want free gas.

Broadband you can hack or back in the good old days no one had wifi passwords.
Phone well if you hack your broadband use Viber and Facebook messenger if you are that stingy but 3 do €20 a month mobile unlimited data deal which you could tether your laptop to so stealing is pointless. With this you could watch tv download torrents.
Gas, well with the amount of sh*t the likes of Richard Boyd Barret and co. talk just stand near them with a hoover and collect 100% pure methane. And with a one time investment you could invest in a methane powered engine to power the house.

Rubberchikken · 27-07-2014 5:07pm

Why cant the givt pass legislation stating that revenue will come after people if they dont pay/not allow IW entry to their street?
They did it for the household charge and LPT.

Seems to me we're not living in a democracy any longer.

Tigger · 27-07-2014 5:10pm

Rubberchikken wrote: »

Why cant the givt pass legislation stating that revenue will come after people if they dont pay/not allow IW entry to their street?
They did it for the household charge and LPT.

Seems to me we're not living in a democracy any longer.

the water charge might cost me 400 a year
the vat change cost me 2.5k
where's my nama unemployed protestors

darkpagandeath · 27-07-2014 5:12pm

RayM wrote: »

That's all well and good, but is there any way of getting free electricity, gas, Sky TV, phone and broadband too? Why limit it to water charges? Gas is natural. I want free gas.

This is an irrelevant argument, As water treatment and maintenance of the network was looked after via direct taxation. It was never Free, If we are now paying for it another way can we have what ever tax they were taking it from reduced, Vat was it not ? The governments inability to manage a budget is not the peoples fault. Giving them more money will not make them anymore able to budget correctly.

RayM · 27-07-2014 5:12pm

HurtLocker wrote: »

Broadband you can hack or back in the good old days no one had wifi passwords.
Phone well if you hack your broadband use Viber and Facebook messenger if you are that stingy but 3 do €20 a month mobile unlimited data deal which you could tether your laptop to so stealing is pointless. With this you could watch tv download torrents.
Gas, well with the amount of sh*t the likes of Richard Boyd Barret and co. talk just stand near them with a hoover and collect 100% pure methane. And with a one time investment you could invest in a methane powered engine to power the house.

That's not good enough. I want Eircom to provide me with free phone and broadband. I want Sky to give me the full package for nothing. I want Bord Gais to pump gas into my house for free (it is natural, after all), and I don't see why I should have to pay for electricity either. Especially now that they're using wind power. Wind is as natural as water. Why should I have to pay any of these taxes?

darkpagandeath · 27-07-2014 5:15pm

RayM wrote: »

That's not good enough. I want Eircom to provide me with free phone and broadband. I want Sky to give me the full package for nothing. I want Bord Gais to pump gas into my house for free (it is natural, after all), and I don't see why I should have to pay for electricity either. Especially now that they're using wind power. Wind is as natural as water. Why should I have to pay any of these taxes?

Did you pay for any of that via direct taxation previously ? no. And water was never free will people stop saying this.

Fr_Dougal · 27-07-2014 5:24pm

Bono will save us.

AnonoBoy · 27-07-2014 5:25pm

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I want one of those plugs to stick up the hole of the next person that presumes the vocal minority speak for the majority.

I've a sack load of those out the back. I'll sell 'em to you for 100 euro.

Only been used once.

Eh.... Never been used.

kneemos · 27-07-2014 5:26pm

I don't mind paying if it means I don't have to buy drinking water,but I doubt it.

darkpagandeath · 27-07-2014 5:27pm

kneemos wrote: »

I don't mind paying if it means I don't have to buy drinking water,but I doubt it.

The lead and cryptosporidium is free no charge as of yet. Has the water safety crowed removed the old
"run your tap for at least a minute before using the water to drink, to stop getting to much lead ?"

dxhound2005 · 27-07-2014 5:28pm

darkpagandeath wrote: »

Did you pay for any of that via direct taxation previously ? no. And water was never free will people stop saying this.

Before it was added to the things which central taxation funded it was partly funded from property tax (domestic rates). It turned out that the genius plan (vote buying exercise) by Fianna Fail in 1977 to fund everything from central taxation didn't actually work. So motor/road tax was restored, bin charges came in, we now have a separate property tax and soon water charges. You will no doubt vote for anyone who promises that they will abolish them all again.

Tigger · 27-07-2014 5:28pm

darkpagandeath wrote: »

Did you pay for any of that via direct taxation previously ? no. And water was never free will people stop saying this.

strikes me that the issue is those that pay feck all direct tax hate the user pays system that water meters represent

well tough its time that the hard working majority get their way no more income tax, stick it on the end user

RayM · 27-07-2014 5:30pm

darkpagandeath wrote: »

Did you pay for any of that via direct taxation previously ? no. And water was never free will people stop saying this.

Like all other services, the cost of water should depend on usage levels. Just because something was or is currently funded via direct taxation, doesn't mean that should always be the case.

darkpagandeath · 27-07-2014 5:32pm

RayM wrote: »

Like all other services, the cost of water should depend on usage levels. Just because something was or is currently funded via direct taxation, doesn't mean that should always be the case.

Does that include the 40% that goes directly back into the ground after being treated ? Who pays for that ?

Plastic plug to avoid metering

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