Looks like they only asked TDs and Senators in my opinion.

Yeah, I was wondering exactly what households were surveyed…….. If I spent 810 euro every week, I’d be deep in debt after week 1!!!!

of course the survey did take place between August 2009 and September 2010……. If a more recent survey was taken I think the weekly spend would have fallen quite sharply…………..

I think they are trying the Celtic Tiger approach … convince everyone that everyone has loads a money, and therfore put pressure on the Bloggs to keep up with the Jones …
If the average industrial wage is 36k gross …. and 1.3 people per household are working … That works out at 46.8k…. which indeed works our approximately at 900 euro per week … But if you take the median instead of the average, that 900 euro figure drops quite substantially to less than 660 euro per week. So Sheila et all that non gullible people on here, must be going 150 euro in further in debt every week, if they are spending 810 euro per week (And i havent even counted in PAYE, PRSI USC or any pension contributions anyone is making). And i cant believe that sone of the FFG/Labour folks are still actually complaining that some households are spening 40 euro per week on alcohol and cigerettes …. Come on people, get a grip … FFG/Labour are going to sell whatever they can to convince you that you are the odd-balls, and not the norm for not supporting them… How often are we see people on here who disagree with the lies and bullcrap, now referred to as “Shinner-Bots”. If thats what we you want to call us, then yes, we are “Shinner Bots”…. and i am proud of it.

(I’ll stand up as I type this):

My name is Sheila and I am a shinner-bot

apparently lolol

The FGers are going to give you lots of Red thumbs for telling the truth.You’re not supposed to do that.

The “central fund” is our health, education and welfare systems…

What health and education system?

Great point Owen. Very well put. There’s lots of unfinished estates around the country where the council are washing their hands of the residents problems blaming the developer and vice versa. There’s a state of the art train station lying idle up here in D15 for at least a yr. now all because of an unfinished roadway into the station where the council and developer ( who’s now living it up in Nama) can’t agree. You couldn’t make this stuff up !!!

I saw that on SixOne last evening. He said Qs were forming at some council offices of people wanting to pay the Household tax. Fecking liars. Qs my ass!

While out canvassing last night I met a couple of pensioners who were frightened after seeing him on the News. What kind of government send these types of people out to terrorise their citizens. Fine Gael – that’s who.

The €3.1bn we are about to throw down the Anglo hole. How many years of house tax would that cover at the current rate of €100 per house?

Scrap those Anglo payments and then I might consider paying a house tax. Before that happens no chance.

@Kerry.

319 years at current levels

Household tax = local services

No payment of household tax = local services – household tax

Nice try Donal. Funding to local services have been cut.

How did they fund local services before?

Where is this money gone now?

What’s to stop them bringing in a Education Charge or a Fresh Air Charge next year?

Few questions for you there Donal for you to ponder. I already know the answers. They can shag off for themselves. ;)

Reada, as I understand it, the Household charge will be used to fund the money that the Government gives to local authorities.

They will of course not be increasing the funding by the amount the household charge brings in, just using the charge to fund what they would have otherwise paid from central funds.

Areas that have a shortfall (due to non-payment) will not have this money replaced, they will have their central funding cut by the shortfall.

Bullshit Donal, is a bullying tactic to convince people to pay, the money is going into the exchequer, there is no way of linking or tracing it back to local authorities!! When I pay it direct to my local council and get an annual itemised yearly bill breaking down where it is spent I will consider paying!!

Donal. Back to the back of the class. Wrong answer. This is a Troika tax. Pure and simple. We are not going to back up this government while they continue to honour a bank guarantee made under duress from international forces and with false information. If this government had any backbone it would be deemed null and void, legally and morally.

Reada, the Bank Guarantee was not made under pressure from international forces. In fact, international forces were pretty bloody surprised an annoyed to wake up and discover what we had done. Any duress was of our own elected Government’s making. They had to make a decision before the banks opened in the morning.

The Bank Guarantee, the source of most of our current misfortunes, was approved our parliament. The majority of people thought it was a great idea at the start. We have to be adult and accept that we, via a large majority in our democratically elected parliament, took on the commitments inherent in the Guarantee and that they have come home to roost.

In saying all that, it galls me that we have to pay back money that was not borrowed from anyone, that was invented by our Central Bank (the Promissory note) so they can make it vanish.

We do not have the power to not honour the promissory note. We cannot source our own funding.

Donal. Timothy Geithner. Look him up. Get your head out of FG propaganda. As FG heads go I like you. Cop on quick. It’s not too late.

Reada, please stop with the FG bs and stick to the topic. It may make you look good to the large number of commenters on here who really don’t have a clue, and generally only have illiterate insults to offer, but it doesn’t do your arguments any good.

It’s not Geithner who is against us this time. It’s the ECB. Geithner was against us imposing actual losses on anyone. The ECB are against allowing member central banks lend invented money and not get it repaid as it would set quite a serious precedent.

@Donal McCarthy: do you have *any* friends?

Ah poor Donal Skeolawn. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings Donal. In fairness I’ve seen you make more than your fair share of party political jibes though.

I know it’s the ECB that are applying the pressure atm but Geithner did play his part in the bank guarantee.

To quote you, “The ECB are against allowing member central banks lend invented money and not get it repaid as it would set quite a serious precedent.” Interesting that the ECB have decided against central banks lending “invented money” now it suits them. The EU et al have been pay-rolled by it long enough. Wipe the sleep from your eyes Donal. It’s wake up time! ;)

There is also a mass march on 31st March, the Fine Gael Árd Fheis is taking place on that Saturday the 31st of March in the Convention Centre, (NAMA Building) on the quays. Gather at the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm. It is time we got off our asses and took to the streets. The whole family should come. Buses are being arranged from around the country. Contact your local branch for details or check on Facebook, or http://www.HouseholdTax.org See you there. Bring plenty.

I’ve been asked. So has my mother and two of my friends, one in Meath, one in Sligo.

Just imagine the €2 every week which is coming out of your pocket. In the past 10 years, Seany Fitzpatrick and his developer mates were high dining in places like Shanahan’s on the green, ON US!

From my point of view the reason people are up in arms is because we are paying for their lavish lifestyles in the past 10 years and they get away with it! To most people €100 over a year is not a huge amount of money, it is what this charge represents is what annoys me!

People are up in arms because this is a tax on our homes. Our homes are our shelter. Why should we have to pay a charge for having a roof over our heads.

What a cynical time to bring in such a tax, while this country is burdened with negative equity, mortgage arrears, etc. It shows us exactly what the government thinks of us. Well we’ve had enough.

There is also a mass march on 31st March, the Fine Gael Árd Fheis is taking place on that Saturday the 31st of March in the Convention Centre, (NAMA Building) on the quays. Gather at the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm. It is time we got off our asses and took to the streets. The whole family should come. Buses are being arranged from around the country. Contact your local branch for details or check on Facebook. it’s time to take Ireland back from FG. They’re only there by default.

Well said Paul.

How many times do we have to go over this, is not about the amount – it’s the principle of the matter here!

Most other European countries have property taxes. The argument about it being our homes isn’t right. It’s a very stable source of income and it’s better than the cyclical property taxes that we were previously basing our revenue on.

And I wouldn’t be encouraging families to go to that FG protest. Guaranteed being in central Dublin it’ll attract every hooligan of SF and the far-left just ready to start trouble.

€2 a week now, but we have no idea how much further that will increase over the next few years. Sadly just €2 extra a week out of a tight budget makes a difference to families that are already struggling. Might not be a killer for most, but shouldn’t we once in a while think of others in our community and make a stand for them? This survey shows the difficulties facing Irish families at the moment and this household charge will affect them further. You talk about cigarettes and drink but at least they are a choice. As a former smoker and current social drinker I don’t mind the increased taxes on them as much (still not thrilled though!) as I can quit these things if I have to. People can’t go and quit their homes!

Well stay at home on your computer then Political Junkie and wax lyrical about what a good job the goofs in government are doing. ;)

Whether people spend €4, €40 or €400 on drink and smokes I don’t see why anyone should pay any amount of money to repay a debt that isn’t theirs.

There are taxes which go towards the improvement of society as a whole which I completely agree with. When the money goes towards health care, education and increasing the welfare of the state and its citizens, everyone who wishes to live here and benefit from this society should pay. When the money is blatantly being taken directly from the pockets of people to repay a debt which isn’t ours then it is wrong.

Most would call it theft Sean.

yea the two euro with the income levy increase petrol price ,vat, stealth charge, higher food prices ,health insurance etc etc sure it only two euro now. what will it be next year.

The argument that this is only a small sum that may rise in the future could be used against all taxes. Dunno about yous but I don’t want to live in an anarchist society with no public services. I hate taxes and by definition they are theft but they’re necessary.

And it’s wrong to say that the charge doesn’t fund our public services.

Spending on the public sector and welfare payments is many tens of billions every year vs 3 billion a year for the promissory notes.

Even if we wrote off the pro-notes, we’d still need taxes like the household or face even bigger reductions in public services.

Hi Politic Junkie, whilst you are correct that most European people pay a property tax, they, in return, get their services. Here we pay Car tax, USC, PAYE, PRSI, TV license (if you pay it), bin charges, VAT, carbon taxes on all fuels and heating and petrol/diesel(have you noticed how expensive they’ve become recently), prescription charges, road tolls……I could go on but i’m getting a headache thinking about all these EXISTING taxes before the Household charge (which I will not be paying) and soon after that water charges…………… how much more do these cosseted politicians think we can take??????????? And seriously – to run local services – how much more do local councillors need???? If they all didn’t go gallivanting around the world, e.g. for St Patricks Day – at our expense, they do not instil me with any confidence in them. Look at what they allowed happen in our towns, cities and countryside during the boom? How could you trust them????

The gov would be better off leaving a bit more cash in people’s pockets so that they stopping living in the state of fear that they’ve been led into, and after a while start to spend again or at least have a bit less stress in their lives………..

@Sheila, What is wrong with you , are you a Shinner bot? Why can you not just accept what the government wants yo to do?

@Politics Junkie: we already paid WAAAAY more in property taxes than any other European will ever pay in their lifetime.

I think P if you care to look it up a lot of what you listed are supposedly paid for out of rates,development levies,car tax not to mention income tax,vat,excise i could go on but i think i made my point.

Hmm, Wurple, let me go through that list based on where I live. Local authority housing – yes. Road maintenance – judging by the amount of potholes and the fact I haven’t seen roadworks other than those on national routes (non local authority works), so no to that one. Street lighting – none, or very little. Public car parks – majority are private. Flood warning initiatives – none. Burial grounds – paid for by the churches and private individuals. Playgrounds – some local authority, majority privately funded. Fire service – cut back. Industrial park maintenance – nope, that’s done by the businesses themselves, even if they are already paying industrial rates for those anyway. Litter management – usually local community groups going round, although I have seen one guy from the council responsible during the year, and all refuse collections are privately contracted. Library and archives – budget cut by 85%. Parks – very poor shape – no work done on them in several years. Piers and harbours – unknown. Recycling centres – no local authority ones – all private (usually Greenstar). Traveller accommodation – no designated areas I’m aware of.

Sorry Norman, I misplaced my reply… It was to the person above who asked what councils do. They do all those things, wherever the money comes from.

@Brian I guess you don’t live in Cork then. :)

As for the topic at hand.. I spend about 120 a week in petrol getting to and from work (yes, its a shitty 10 year old car going a fair distance, looking for something more economical), 280 a week to the creche, and another 250 on the mortgage. That’s 650 a week outgoing before leccie, gas, and food. So I think it’s not too far off.