Government needs more than just threats on household charge

The Government is firmly upping the ante on the household charge ahead of the deadline of March 31. Minister for the Environment and Local Government Phil Hogan is threatening to use details from utility bills to track down those who boycott the charge. And newspapers are carrying stories from the usual unnamed sources, indicating that a major campaign of court prosecutions will be brought to bear on those who don't pay. The Government would be better served if it attempted to deal with the genuine public concern, confusion and disagreement to the charge, rather than attempting to browbeat hard-pressed citizens into paying the charge. Leaflets were to have been sent to all citizens providing information on the charge, though very few appear to have found their destination. It begs the question that if the Government can't make contact with the people before the charge comes into effect, how will it track down those who don't pay? This is just the latest misfortune in a lengthy saga that has been handled horrendously from the outset. Back in August last, this paper predicted the charge could become Ireland's poll tax We said: "And whilst the charge is relatively low by international standards, the unfair manner in which it is being introduced is another political own goal and is set to solidify opposition to the tax. "As a flat tax, payable at the same rate by a millionaire and a single parent on social welfare, the new tax is already been seen as Ireland's equivalent to the hated poll tax in Britain which crystallised public anger against Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government." All of this has come true. And what's more the charge is also now being linked, understandably, to the onerous bailout terms imposed on Ireland by the troika. The argument for a property tax has some merit, but to introduce this regressive tax ahead of a property tax appears to have been a stunning political own goal. The tax takes no account of people's incomes or situations - and on that basis favours the wealthy in society, whom many feel have not played their part in the country's recovery. Ironically, just as the Government was heaping pressure on the citizens to pay the tax, it emerged that the previous administration had spent effectively the same amount the tax will net this year at full compliance (€160m) in sweetheart deals to buy the support of Jackie Healy Rae and Michael Lowry. The Government has also failed to convince the majority of people that the proceeds of the charge will be channelled into the local authority system. The belief that it will take much some time to introduce a property tax and water charge system has only added to distrust at this 'temporary charge', which people believe will rise next year. The Government has a lot of work to do to convince the naysayers and the silent majority regarding the household charge. It needs to deviate from the policy of bluster and threats to reasoned argument.