Friday, February 14, 2025

Mullingar resident refuses to have water meter installed

Meet the only resident in Greenpark, Mullingar who does not have a water meter installed!
Benny O’Connor took a stance on the issue and refused to allow workers to install a water meter outside his home at 87 Greenpark Meadows, Mullingar, parking his car over the stop cock. When workers for Irish Water arrived with a truck to tow away his car, Benny told them he would photograph the scene and send it to the media.
After 20 minutes, the workers left with the tow truck and have not returned, meaning that as of now, Benny O’Connor is the only resident in the estate with no water meter. He remains adamant that he will refuse to pay the water charges and has already refused to sign the document posted to his home.
“When the literature came in the letter box, I just wrote ‘no consent, no contract, return to sender’, and later handed it back to the postman. He informed me that they are inundated with people simply handing back the documents and I am urging everyone not to sign any consent form,” he said.
Benny is part of the National Citizens Movement and is getting support from thousands of members around the country. They are holding an important meeting in the Newbury Hotel, Mullingar on Sunday next, 5 October at 11.30am, at which further details will be available on the water charges, which come into effect on Wednesday of this week. According to Irish Water, the average charge will be €278 per annum for a family of four, but Benny O’Connor believes the charges will be much greater and said that if people don’t fight back, they could be facing annual water bills of up to €900.
“The protest against water charges is now only really beginning. I saw that for myself at the recent march in Dublin, where up to 4,000 people attended. It’s interesting that there were little or no reports in the national media about that march and RTÉ reported that only a few hundred people were there,” he said.
Benny is getting support from his Mullingar colleague, Dermot Murphy, who lives in Lakepoint. Unlike Benny, Dermot does have a water meter installed at his home, but he is refusing to pay the charges and has not signed any consent form.
“Irish Water are a private company and they need my consent before they can charge me for using water. I’m not giving them my consent; I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to avoid water charges, even if it means going to jail,” he told Topic.
Neither Benny nor Dermot pay property tax either, claiming it is being foisted upon the people of Ireland in order to repay the massive debt that was not caused by the ordinary citizens.
Benny says he’s confident he will win the battle with Irish Water.
“We are the biggest non-political movement in the country at present with over 10,000 members. Sunday’s meeting in Mullingar is very important and I am urging everyone to attend. After that there is another march planned for Dublin and we will be part of that once more,” he explained.
The Greenpark Meadows resident claims that what Irish Water are doing is akin to Sky Sports calling to your home, putting up a satellite dish and then sending you out a bill!
“They can’t do it, there is no contract without my consent,” he added.

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