Published: Friday, 18th June, 2010 11:00am

Fine Gael calls on council to help businesses with water bills

Fine Gael members of Offaly County Council are appealing to the council to help out businesses struggling to pay the new water charges, which were introduced retrospectively.

The councillors are calling on the council to bill businesses on a quarterly basis and to also address the huge sums charged retrospectively last year that some businesses are still struggling to pay off, unaware of how high the charges could get.

"Business people are finding it extremely difficult to pay water and it's a bad time to be introducing them. It's a difficult time, especially for those in the hospitality industry," explained Cllr Nichola Hogan. "Some bills are substantial particularly in relation to hotels, but the council are billing them retrospectively."

She said the first bills for water usage were sent out last September/October but the businesses were charged retrospectively for that whole year (January to August 2009). They then received a second bill covering August to November 2009 just before the end of the year. Some businesses in the hospitality industry were hit with a four-figure bill.

"If more notice was given, they could have had a chance in put in measures to conserve water. Some businesses are trying to pay off the bills in part, but people have massive amounts outstanding and the council need to address that," Cllr Hogan added.

She said that having a business in a unit and paying council rates is better than having a business shut down because they are struggling to pay excessive water charges.

Water charges were introduced on the back of EU legislation and meters were installed last year. The motion will be discussed at Monday's council meeting.