Several months ago our government announced that they were introducing a household charge. This charge was not well received and when it came into force at the end of March less than half the population registered to pay it. Several reasons were given for this charge, the IMF was demanding it, many people said it would be going straight to Germany? Why they thought this we have not worked out. It was needed for local services and amenities.
We live in a fairly isolated area, quite close to a lovely lake , seldom used either for fishing or just for a nice walk. The nearest village is about half a mile from the lake. The powers that be decided that an amenity was needed, well there are already a couple of amenities near the lake, and both close to the village, however this new one has been placed, well, slap bang in the middle of nowhere! Half a mile from the nearest cottage, four miles from the village and eight miles from the nearest town. What you might ask is this new amenity? Well it consists of a paved concrete pad, with two tables and benches, nothing as sensible as a covered area so you can take cover if you are having a picnic and the heavens open, and three large lumps of metal exercise equipment. Each has a big warning sign that children are not allowed on this equipment, given that the average age of people around here is a hundred plus, we are just wondering A. where these children are coming from that are not allowed to use this equipment, and B. given the aged population around here, just who is going to use it. Of course, if the council had tried a little harder they could have found an even more remote place to put this, possible in the middle of a turf bog. We are so pleased to feel that the people who have paid their 100 euro household charge are getting their monies worth.
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