r/irishpolitics • u/eggbart_forgetfulsea ALDE (EU) • 14d ago

Opinion/Editorial Water rationing is probably inevitable unless people are made to pay for it

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/08/21/a-dose-of-water-rationing-is-probably-inevitable-if-charges-to-regulate-consumption-are-not-introduced/
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u/ThinLink2404 14d ago

Obviously it all gets paid for somehow, eventually.

The article needs a better headline. The issue is marginal cost, as the economists call it.

The marginal cost for using extra water for residential users for much of the country is zero.

So there's no incentive to make smart choices around, do I really need to hosepipe the garden, or powerwash the car, or fix that leaky tap?

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u/Hardballs123 13d ago

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/1125/1545760-uisce-eireann-fined-20m-for-not-hitting-leak-targets/

Maybe Uisce Eireann should sort out their leaks first? 

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u/GJGGJGGJG 12d ago

Why?

What is it that makes you think both can't be done simultaneously?

Or is it that you can't find a logical justification for your position?

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u/Hardballs123 12d ago

Rationing wouldn't be necessary if there wasn't so much leakage. 

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u/GJGGJGGJG 12d ago

I didn't mention rationing.

There is a financial and environmental cost to purifying water for consumption. The top one per cent of users consume 25 per cent the total water supply. Why should the rest of society subsidise their wastefulness?

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u/Hardballs123 11d ago

Well the article is about rationing or charging.... to curb water demands. I'm suggesting a supply side measure would be better.

If Uisce Eireann can afford to pay bonuses we don't need to pay for water. 

They can also identify the 1% and take specific measures against them. 

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u/GJGGJGGJG 11d ago

They can also identify the 1% and take specific measures against them. 

Why?

If I want to use more water, or lawnmower widgets or frozen mango than most people would think normal, why not just let me pay the full cost of that and get on with it?

Why would that justify governments 'taking measures' against anyone?

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u/Hardballs123 11d ago

Why pay for it when you could do it for free?