Water in Ireland; walk around Merrion Square area

Today I found myself doing a deep dive (pun intended) into the topic of domestic water usage and funding mechanisms in Ireland.

As I believe I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I don’t have a water bill, which is rather curious. Apparently there’s a long history around attempts to impose water service charges here in Ireland. The following synopsis is based largely on two Wikipedia articles: Water supply and sanitation in the Republic of Ireland and Taxation in the Republic of Ireland.

Prior to 1977: Landowners paid “rates” (i.e., property taxes) that were used in part to pay for water services and refuse collection; presumably these costs were passed on to tenants through rent prices.

1977: The “rates” paid by property owners were abolished, and local water authorities were funded directly by national government appropriations from increases to the Income Tax and Value Added Tax (as well as borrowing).

1983: The Fine Gael–Labour government decided to cut the national funding of water authorities and passed legislation to allow local councils to levy service charges, although the tax increases from 1977 stayed so this was viewed by some as a “double tax.”

1994-1997: Dublin had decided not to introduce service charges for water until 1994. When charges were finally implemented, they caused a brouhaha with some people refusing to pay them, the city threatening to cut off service, etc. In 1996-1997, the so called “Rainbow Government” formed by the coalition of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and the Democratic Left abolished water charges and instead planned to fund local authorities through a motor tax. However, Fine Gael lost to Fianna Fáil in the June 1997 elections, but by then the new government decided not to pursue water charges for domestic users. Non-domestic users were to be charged under the 1998 Water Services Pricing Policy that was implemented.

1997-2013: A few bills to reform Ireland’s water sector were introduced but not passed. Eventually, a national public utility called Irish Water was established to take over from the local water authorities (with certain exceptions) and began a national metering programme.

2015-2017: Irish Water took over with the intention of being funded through direct billing, but it suspended water charges after widespread pushback and protests.

2017-present: The Ireland Water Service Act of 2017 abolished the previous water charging scheme and instead introduced the Household Water Conservation Charge for domestic users for excess usage only, scheduled to start in 2020. This established an annual water allowance (free of charge) of 213,000 litres per year for a household of 0-4 people; the allowance increases in gradients for each additional person. Apparently the allowance is based on an average household usage of 125,000 litres per year (~33,000 gallons), with the allowance set at 1.7 times the average.

In contrast, the average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day at home, according to the U.S. EPA, which amounts to more than 400,000 litres a year (3+ times the standard allowance in Ireland!).

How do you explain the difference in water usage? Anecdotally, any American who has traveled to Europe has surely noticed that toilets here use a lot less water. Also, most Europeans don’t have yards that need watering. Showers here also use less water pressure; the shower in my apartment has a variable pressure control, which allows you to use less water during most of the time but then boost for rinsing off.

To close out this topic, I borrowed this beautiful (but unfortunately low-res) map of Ireland showing all its waterways that I found on a Reddit post:

In other news, I meet up with my walking buddy CJ today at 12:00. We haven’t been on a walk since last week, and the weather today is bright and clear… although a bit chilly, with highs only in the mid-40s. He has a doctor appointment in the afternoon, so we have to keep it relatively short. I suggest heading to the Merrion Square area, including Fitzwilliam Square that I haven’t seen yet. I don’t think there’s really another name for this part of Dublin, at least I haven’t seen any labels on any maps. We end up walking down Grafton Street, past St. Stephens Green and eventually reach the Grand Canal. We walk eastward along the canal for awhile until we reach a hotel and restaurant called the Schoolhouse. It appears to be open, so we go inside, but it is completely isolated. CJ calls out “Is anybody here?” and a young woman appears behind the bar. She has an accent, probably Polish? At any rate, we order some caesar wraps to go for lunch, and the young woman disappears into the back and invites us to wait inside the cavernous dining room with high vaulted, beamed ceilings. Minutes tick away as we continue our conversation, and CJ is beginning to get a little anxious about the time. The woman finally returns with our wraps, we pay, and then find a bench conveniently located nearby where we can sit and eat our lunch. They’re quite good, seemingly made fresh and lightly pressed/grilled like a panini. CJ says he’ll need to take a bus back to make it to his appointment. He forgot to bring his “Leap” transit card, so I offer to lend him mine, which he accepts with appreciation. We walk up Mount Street Lower to a bus stop, and I wait with CJ until the next coach arrives. From there, I decide to walk back towards the apartment by way of Merrion Square, Fitzwilliam Square (which I learn is a private park open only to members who access it by key), then through Iveagh Gardens and eventually back home.

The Grand Canal:

A marker for Fitzwilliam Ward (or Square), which I only saw from the outside since it’s private park: