Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is now clear to everybody with an ounce of common sense that the Tánaiste is presiding over an absolute shambles in Irish Water and worse in respect of the Government's decision to impose domestic water charges on struggling families. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Dublin last Saturday and told the Government loud and clear that they could not afford these charges. By the way, they are not the consumer focus people want or need. I repeat to the Tánaiste because she does not seem to get it that thousands of families throughout the State do not have the money to pay water charges, full stop. They cannot pay. We know that the Government has held over these families the threat that their water supply will be reduced to a trickle and potential court actions and judgments, but the situation is far worse. I have a letter sent by Wicklow County Council to rental accommodation scheme, RAS, tenants, the scheme administered by the Tánaiste's Department. The letter makes it clear to these tenants that a failure to pay their water charges could result in their eviction. Therefore, not only do we have a threat to the supply of water and of potential court action, we also discover that the very roof over people's heads may be in jeopardy. The Tánaiste is aware that there are 36,000 families in the RAS scheme; therefore, I want her to tell me and the Dáil how it is that she authorised the issuing of such a threatening letter to these families. I want her to make it clear to them and other local authority tenants that nobody will be evicted because he or she cannot pay his or her water charges.

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