Should Clare County Council introduce a "Toilet Tax"?

November the 19th was "World Toilet Day", I am not joking about this. Just google it and you will be amazed at the amount of references to this global celebration of things best not mentioned at the dinner table .The notion of a day dedicated to the humble crapper may at first appear odd. If, a world toilet day, then why not a world ironing board day or coffee table day, with such things in mind the concept of a global day dedicated to the toilet is unlikely to be flushed with success.

But on reflection it is a deadly serious business, and the issue of toilets and sewerage is causing considerable headaches for the executive and members of Clare County Council. Flushing toilets is expensive business, not least because flushing toilets account for half of the water a household uses. But with tighter regulation, Clare County Council can no longer discharge untreated sewerage to water courses.

The World Toilet Organisation (www.worldtoilet.org) organises world toilet day and while it may sound like an organisation established for a laugh, the reality is far from that.

Diarrhorea, caused by lack of proper sanitation, kills one child every 15 seconds. Half the hospital beds in the world are taken up with people suffering water-related diseases. But we almost never hear such shocking facts because the global sanitation crisis goes virtually un-remarked by world governments. Babies born in sub-Saharan Africa are 500 times more likely to die from diarrhoeal disease than babies born in the Western world. Diseases like cholera killed tens of thousands of Irish people in the mid-19th century and Clare was not immune either. Fr Ignatius Murphy gave a fascinating insight to the Cholera epidemic in County Clare in 1832-1833, in an article in the "other Clare".

We discovered the link between poor sanitation and illness, putting an end to wholesale suffering and death. It is a scandal that millions of people in the developing world die for the same reasons.

But back to local matters faecal and financial. Clare County Council, like all local authorities have serious funding challenges if it is to eradicate the release of untreated sewerage from the towns and villages of Clare. The poor distressed County Manager has no choice in this, legislation requires that it be done. The problem is those responsible for the legislation are not providing the funding. The further irony is that Clare County Council is limited in how it can raise funds. It cannot charge households for water. It can only raise loans with the sanction of government. However, Clare County Council can implement Bye Laws. Problem solved! Introduce a bye law allowing a yearly tax to be charged on toilets. I can see the relief across the county managers face already,