Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business. After the incredible plethora of different versions over recent days from different Ministers of what new raft of punitive local taxes, between home taxes and water taxes, they want to pile on the already hard-pressed people of this State, we need clarification. We need it because the Tánaiste and Leader of the Labour Party again, unfortunately, misled people this morning when he claimed domestic metering, at a cost of hundreds of millions of euro, is a significant water conservation measure when one of the leading engineers, Kevin Murray, who is in favour of water charges and meters for different reasons, says the idea that meters would significantly reduce domestic consumption is largely a myth.

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