Water Charges: Report finds that 42% of water lost through leakage

It has been reported by the Leitrim Observer, that a recent report by Leitrim County Council has found that as much as 42% of the water generated by the South Leitrim Regional Water Supply Scheme is lost through leakage. This amounts to a staggering 3.8 million litres of water every single day.

Considering the Governments plan to introduce household water metering, the question must surely be asked, is it really appropriate for the Government to charge citizens for water while millions of litres are still being lost daily through a shoddy public water system?

The situation in Leitrim is not unique, it is replicated throughout the entire country.

Early estimates suggest the installation of the nationwide metering system could cost the taxpayer as much as 500 million euro. Surely given the enormous strain currently on on low income households, the ones who would be most affected by water charges, it would be more appropriate for this money to be used to repair the leaking system that is in place, and thereby save millions of litres of water each day without placing further strain on citizens who are already struggling to make ends meet.

The inadequacies of the present water system were highlighted last Christmas when thousands of households were left without a water supply, a situation which we are sure to find ourselves in again this Christmas, since the Government and Local Authorities have failed to address the problems in our outdated and malfunctioning piping system.

It raises questions over whether it is right to introduce charges while many households will still have to face a loss of supply during the cold winters.

Serious questions should also be raised over what the Government plans to do with households who simply cannot afford these water charges. Placing fines on already impoverished households would be pointless. Considering those most likely to be most severely affected by these new charges are large families on low income, a termination of water supply would raise serious ethical questions.

All of that taxpayer money, with which the Government through the Courts will use to attempt to extract payment from households that simply cannot afford it, would in my opinion, be better spent modernizing our water service to ensure episodes like last Christmas are not repeated.

This is unlikely to happen however, and picking up where there predecessors left off, Fine Gael and Labour appear to have chosen continue a policy of targeting the poor and most vulnerable citizens in the country, as they attempt to squeeze from the people every penny they can to repay the bankers debt.

Minister for Social Protection: Welfare is a "lifstyle choice" for youth

Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton was this week quoted by the Sunday Independent as claiming that many young people on social welfare choose to be so as a “lifestyle choice”.

The Minister asserts that “what we are getting at the moment is people who come into the system straight after school as a lifestyle choice.”

There are now 446,800 people signing on to the live register, with unemployment figures standing at 14.2% according to the most recent data from the Central Statistics Office.

This begs the obvious question, just where are the jobs that the Minister seems to believe these young people have foresaken?

Rather than attempt to meaningfully address the lack of employment options available to young people, the minister has chosen instead to pursue a course of social bigotry in an attempt to portray young people on the live register as lazy. By doing so she hopes to direct public discord away from her own Governments failings in relation to unemployment, and shift the blame on to the young unemployed.
   
These comments from the Minister for Social Protection display just how detached Minister Burton is from the reality what life is like for unemployed youths in Ireland. It seems the Minister fails to recognize that the vast majority of young people who are unemployed have been forced into their situation, and few, would consider their 'dole' as anything much of a lifestyle.
   
Minister Burton outlined her plan to introduce cuts of as much as €44 per week, to those who refuse to take up a place on a Government sponsored training course, regardless it seems, of whether or not that training would be of any professional benefit, or any improvement on previous qualifications.
   
The opposition have been quick to point out that by further punishing those who are dependent on social welfare, rather than focusing on job creation, the Minister risks damaging the economic situation of the country further, for basic economic understanding will tell you that almost all money recieved through social welfare is money that will go straight back into the economy, therefore sustaining existing jobs.
   
It seems beyond doubt at this point that Fine Gael and Labour have picked up where their Fianna Fail predecessors left off by opting to target the most vulnerable and least represented people in Irish society, persistently going after the sick, the elderly and young unemployed.

It is certainly cause for concern when the Minister for Social Protection cannot identify that it is a lack of choice, as opposed to "lifestyle choice", that is leading so many young people to sign on the live register.
   
As Minister Burton, who earns a basic salary of over 169k per year, prepares for her forthcoming seven week holidays from the Dail, those who are interested in seeing Ireland come out of this disastrous situation must surely be asking whether Minister Burton's own priveleged 'lifestyle' is perhaps affecting her ability to relate to those who are truly struggling in the Irish welfare system.

Controversy over Irish Census 2011

The Irish public are being urged to boycott the upcoming census amid allegations that the company contracted to gather information from Irish Citizens has been linked to the torture of prisoners at notorious U.S prison camp, Abu Ghraib, in Iraq.

The London-based company contracted to gather information for the Irish census, CACI (UK), is a wholly-owned subsidiary of US contractor CACI International. CACI have faced heavy criticism for their role as interrogators at Abu Ghraib prison during the height of the prisoner abuse scandal in 2004.

In August 2003, CACI International provided staff to the US army to conduct IT and intelligence work in Iraq, including interrogation services.

CACI International are known to have interrogated people detained without charge at Abu Ghraib. They did so under US rules of engagement that permitted sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation and intimidation by dogs. Without the support of the United States these practices would generally be considered to violate international human rights norms.

A number of former Abu Ghraib prisoners have since brought lawsuits against CACI alleging torture and other human rights abuses. In the US, four Iraqis brought a federal lawsuit against CACI International asserting that its staff participated in torture at Abu Ghraib. Suhail Najim Abdullah al Shimari, Taha Yaseen Arraq Rashid, Sa'ad Hamza Hantoosh Al-Zuba'e and Salah Hasan Nusaif Jasim al-Ejaili were all detained in the prison after the 2003 US-led invasion.

They allege they were subjected to electric shocks, sexual assault, brutal beatings and mock executions. Rashid claims he was forcibly subjected to sexual acts by a female as he was cuffed and shackled to cell bars. He also alleges that he was forced to witness the rape of a female prisoner and had a taser gun fired at his head.

Irish census protesters are said to be willing to risk a criminal record, and a possible fine "of up to €25,000" in an attempt to force the Irish Government to cancel their contract with CACI (UK). Many feel that Irish taxpayers money should not be used to support an organization so intimately involved with the U.S occupation of Iraq.