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spare room
jamesburke
Posts: 53
Hi All just back from county cork after a weeks break hotel great restaurant menu prices rip off
HI peat ballan just read youre post on bees verry good liked the bit about spare rooms i have two how would i fare out
buy the way i to pay water charges in 1215 never had to pay for water before you would think we had a shortage of the stuff approx 50percent lost through broken pipes only a little rant
JB
0
Posts
sorry ment to say i have to pay
We all have to pay for water one way or another. I think we sometimes undervalue it. It can't be free. I think it is far cheaper than letting my plants die and my investment in my garden in terms of time, effort and money wasted. If you have Satellite TV, smoke cigarettes, continually update your mobile phone then perhaps priorities should be reviewed. Also whilst wastage is a problem, and largely due to underinvestment in the past when the water companies were in the public sector, it is nowhere near 50%.
Every household in Belgium has a water metre so you pay for what you consume which seems fair to me. There are also rules about water companies and maintenance and maximum percentages of leakages allowed. Most UK companies would be in breach and having to pay fines and effect repairs whose costs may not be passed on to the consumer.
Like WW, I prefer to nurture my new plants rather than lose them. There are better ways to save water - shorter showers, not leaving the tap on when brushing teeth, using a dishwasher rather than washing by hand etc.
HI All I think i am right in saying that in GB youre household charges covers youre gp-water -refuse collection ect
In ireland we pay for everything seperatly for example if i visit my gp its 60euros prectipton for chemist last visit i paid 114euros thats whi i am against these charges approx half the mains water is lost through broken pipes
JB
No. Household rates cover refuse collection. Water and sewerage are separate. Medical care - except dentistry - is free at point of delivery except for prescriptions and that depends on your status - or so I understand it after not living there for a while.
In Belgium we also pay every time we visit a doctor but it's refunded wholly or in part by the Mutuelle insurance depending on problem and patient status - which concentrates the mind about not bothering GPS for colds and other minor ailments that can bet treated with advice from the pharmacy or even common sense.
Some prescriptions, eg cancer drugs, are refunded 100%. Others such as contraceptives are not funded at all. Children's meds are funded differently too. Medicines can only be bought from a pharmacy, unlike in the UK where you can get some at the supermarket or off the shelf in a drugstore. I like the Belgian system. It's rapid, efficient, effective and hard to abuse.