Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

Efficient, effective, economic value for money public services are what we all want to see delivered to the people of this State and beyond. Clean water delivered through a first world network, minimising waste and employing the most up-to-date conservation measures, should not be too much to ask for in a modern country.

Supporting an all-island water network that prioritises water quality and environmental standards on an island as small as this makes sense. Keeping water, one of the most vital resources and an absolute necessity for life, in public ownership is the only sane option. Using the central taxation system to pay for it is right and fair. It seemed that in the first flush of Government decision making in early March, the incoming Administration was thinking along these lines. The programme for Government committed to create a new State company that would take over the water investment maintenance programmes of local authorities promising an acceleration of planned investments needed to upgrade the State's inefficient and leaking water network. That was what was promised.

However, now 100 days into the Government, we see that Fine Gael and Labour intend to heap even more pain on people so debt-ridden that they are already flocking in their thousands to organisations such as FLAC. People are desperately seeking jobs that do not exist and are at their wits' end trying to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

Water is the most basic of necessities. It is not a luxury or something we can choose not to use. A water charge of €170 would pay for two weeks' shopping, the monthly electricity or gas bill, or even the new school uniforms children will need when returning to school in September. This is not small change to the hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers whose pay the Government wants to cut, or the 450,000 who still have no work because the Government refuses to invest properly in job creation to boost the real economy.

The Government can make different choices. As hard as things are politics is still about choices. In government, Sinn Féin made different choices. Sinn Féin invested more than £1 billion to improve the North's water and sewerage services between 2007 and 2011. That is £1 million each day invested to improve the quality of the drinking water and the treatment of waste water in the Six Counties. This investment has delivered an extensive capital works programme. Two projects in particular stand out as examples of what can be done with political will - the Belfast sewers project and the water mains rehabilitation programme.

The Belfast sewers project was completed in spring 2010 and represented a total investment of more than £160 million in upgrading the city's sewer network and constructing a large diameter tunnel. These measures have not only reduced the pollutant loading on the River Lagan, but also reduced instances of flooding in the inner city by 85%, which represents a good investment by any standards. The water mains rehabilitation programme represents an investment of £80 million in upgrading and improving water mains. To date, more than 1,200 km of mains have been upgraded as part of this programme. These upgrades have helped to improve the quality, reliability and flexibility of water supply across the North while also reducing leakage.

In the North, despite pressure from Britain, Sinn Féin insisted that water charges would not be imposed. These are the kinds of decisions the Government in this jurisdiction needs to take - decisions that invest in infrastructure, take people off the dole and boost the domestic economy. Water is not a luxury item and we must not be charged for it.

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