Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

I am opposed to water charges because I believe €500 million would be better spent on stopping the leakage in our system. That would provide significant employment while fixing a problem we have been dealing with for a number of years.

In many of the older houses in places like Whitehall, Finglas and Walkinstown water is supplied through lead pipes. Will part of the €500 million be allocated to address this issue? These households will incur huge costs in adapting their water pipes. I have encountered issues in Finglas, Ballymun and Whitehall whereby pipes leak occasionally. It will not be possible to connect meters to these pipes.

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