Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This Government has been sitting for three and a half years and the legislation was introduced almost a year ago but the Taoiseach still will not tell people what they will be charged. The Government is dysfunctional and the Minister who introduced water charges legislation says it has failed abjectly. He described Uisce Éireann as arrogant, uncaring and a cosseted quango with a bonus culture. Today Deputy Eoghan Murphy, a Fine Gael TD, accused the Government of manipulating and abusing the Dáil in how it ran through the legislation that established Irish Water. He said the credibility of the Government is in tatters. Meanwhile, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, has threatened the use of Revenue to chase those who cannot pay the water tax and has demanded that citizens give their personal public service, PPS, numbers to Irish water.

Did the Taoiseach or the Tánaiste authorise Irish water to contact every local authority to seek the names and addresses of council tenants? Is this what the Taoiseach meant when he said he listened to the concerns of citizens who took to the streets in every county of this State last Saturday? Yesterday he said he would act on their calls. The game is up.

The Taoiseach will not tell us how much he is going to charge. He refuses to do that. Will the Taoiseach not now, even belatedly, agree that the only way forward is to scrap water charges?

See this speech in context