Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

There is broad agreement between Labour and Fine Gael with regard to the various issues to which I refer. What, therefore, is in dispute? Why have members become so indignant and angry in the Chamber in recent days?

Does not the real issue relate to the fact that Labour wants to delay the final decision and announcement relating to water charges until after the local elections next month? I put it to the Tánaiste that his party is not concerned about the effect of the new tax on families, the unemployed or those with illnesses or disabilities but rather about the impact its introduction will have on its share of the vote.

The Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, has come out in the past half an hour stating that there will be no ability-to-pay clauses in the payment. The Central Statistics Office figures released yesterday showed that disposable income has fallen by €3,000 since 2008. People now face a new tax on the household on top of the property tax. The new tax will be a major burden on the 27% of the population, or 1.2 million people, who suffer deprivation and the 13% who cannot properly heat their homes. One in three children are in this situation and 16.4% of people in work suffer deprivation, two and a half times more than in 2008.

It may be that we did not understand that defending the vulnerable meant not defending any of those who did not cause the crisis. Those people have become economic units in this country rather than citizens. Is it about defending the vulnerable in the Labour Party? The party is likely to get a hiding in the May local elections.

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