Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

It looks as though Fine Gael has already started to tax daylight. Most of the Deputies seem to be in the dark with regard to the importance of this issue. It is notable that only one Deputy from the Government parties is in the Chamber. This is unfortunate.

Timpeall na tíre tá teaghlaigh ag strachailt chun a gcuid páistí a bheathú. Tá tuismitheoirí ag lorg airgid chun a bpáistí a thabhairt go dtí an dochtúir. Tá clainn ag sábháil gach uile pingin chun morgáistí a íoc. Tá saol uafásach deacair ann do dhream ollmhór ar fud na tíre. Níl mé ag caint faoi dhaoine dífhostaithe amháin. Táim ag caint faoi dhaoine atá ag obair. Dar le Social Justice Ireland, tá níos mó ná 100,000 duine atá ag obair ag marachtáil i saol an bhochtanais. Sin rud uafásach. Bheidh an Rialtas ag cur ualaigh níos mó ar ghuaillí na ndaoine sin. Tá sé ag iarraidh níos mó airgid a thógáil as pócaí na dteaghlach sin.

Tá athrú meoin tagtha ar an Rialtas, go mórmhór ar an Lucht Oibre. Roimh an toghcháin, dúirt an Teachta Eamon Gilmore go raibh sé díreach in aghaidh na táillí uisce. Dúirt sé go mbeadh rátaí comhréidh míchothram mar go mbeadh ar dhaoine a raibh seomra folctha amháin acu an méid céanna a íoc le daoine a raibh cúig sheomra folctha acu. Dúirt sé nach mbeadh an Stát in ann clár méadarú uisce a chur i bhfeidhm. Bhí sé go láidir ina choinne ach tháinig athrú ollmhór air an Teachta Eamon Gilmore ó labhair sé faoi bhealach an Lucht Oibre.

Before the election, the Labour Party said it would be their way or Frankfurt's way. However, the memorandum of understanding between Ireland and the EU commits Ireland to undertake an independent assessment of the establishment of a water utility. Ireland is also committed to introducing a property tax and water charges for domestic users under the EU-IMF deal. If Labour Party Deputies thought they would ever get to vote with their own convictions in the Dáil they have been rudely awoken. The fact that the Government signed up to the straitjacket of the EU-IMF bailout rules this out. It is in direct contrast to their pre-election promise and puts paid to any pretence that Labour Deputies have a free vote on this issue.

I am opposed to these water charges on a number of grounds, including the fact that they are happening as a direct result of the EU-IMF deal. This means that revenue will be collected from families who can least afford to pay and transferred from Irish citizens to bondholders of failed banks. Some Government spokespeople will say this money will be ring-fenced for the use of local authorities. However, the Government is Fianna Fáil mark two. It will continue the same policies of cutting back on the local government grant to each authority. The funding cut back by central Government will be replaced by water charges and the money saved by central Government will go to pay off bondholders.

It is a sad fact that this transfer of money is happening at such a time, when thousands of people are struggling. People are struggling to feed their families and are choosing whether to take a child to the doctor or the dentist. They are saving every cent they have in an effort not to go into mortgage arrears. At the same time, the Government is putting its hand into the pockets of those families and extracting money to pay off bondholders.

If the new flat tax, or meter tax, comes about it will be as popular as Thatcher's poll tax. The people of Ireland will treat the Government as that regime was treated in Britain.

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