Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ná déanfaimis dearmad gur tharla an méid seo inniu mar gheall ar na mílte daoine a léirigh a dtoil go soiléir ar na sráideanna agus i measc an phobail. Today has come about through the will of the people. Their demand has been very clear, namely, that this additional water charge be scrapped. Today is not about the Government having a road-to-Damascus conversion. It is not about the Government being part of a genuine democratic revolution.

7 o’clock

It is not about the Government trying to provide relief from the water tax for hard-pressed households. Today’s proposals are about giving the Government a lifeline, not relieving the pressure on those who cannot pay water charges. During the past weeks, the Government has built up today’s announcement. It engaged in a PR offensive in a desperate attempt to cling to seats in the next election. This is a tactical U-turn by a Government which has made U-turning part of its modus operandi. Although citizens can take strength from the fact that we have turned the Government, we know it still has some distance to go.

Even today, despite all the Government’s preparatory work and two Cabinet meetings, it has made a mess of the debate. For months the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have refused to answer straightforward questions, and they rationalised this by saying there would be a full debate. However, again, the Government’s arrogance kicked in. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste left, as did the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, after he had made his speech and before the Opposition had had the opportunity to respond. It took the withdrawal of the Opposition to get the Minister to return and participate in the debate. After all the hype, it is clear from the Government’s announcement today that it has not scrapped water charges. The water metering programme will continue, metered charges will come in, and there is still no constitutional right to water. Households that fail to register with Irish Water will receive a default bill of €260 per annum per dwelling. Such households will not be entitled to the €100 water conservation grant.

The water conservation grant is vintage stroke politics: dodgy accountancy allied to the politics of carrot-and-stick, comprising a bill on the one hand and a rebate on the other. What kind of economics is it? It will not be operational until some time after September 2015. Legislation will be introduced allowing landlords to deduct water charges from their tenants' deposits. There will be a statutory charge on a dwelling in respect of unpaid water charges. There will be penalties for those who do not pay after a year. A single-adult household will face a €30 penalty and other households €60. Although the Taoiseach said the capped charge would be in place until 2018, he knows that once water charges are in place, they will only increase. This has been the history of all these charges. Sorry, Tánaiste-----

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