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

I join in absolutely rejecting any act of aggression against the Tánaiste, her staff member, any member of An Garda Síochána or any protestor. I am sure she will join with me in acknowledging that, in fact, the protests by hundreds of thousands of people the length and breadth of the country have been marked by their peacefulness, respect, colour and determination. I am sure the Tánaiste will join with me in saying that the acts of a few random individuals do not represent the spirit or intent of the vast majority who have protested.

Yesterday, the Government announced a revised plan cobbled together in response to those very demonstrations. It is an attempt to dupe people into believing that the issue of water charges has been resolved. It is a desperate attempt to bribe people off the protests. Those protests have demonstrated the sharp reality that this lame-duck coalition has lost its mandate.

The Tánaiste seems to have a strange view of the public's anger and demands. Mind-bogglingly, she persists with the farcical line that people have been protesting because they want certainty and clarity. That is nonsense, however, and the Tánaiste knows it.

There are four things that hard-pressed ordinary people can be certain of today: first, that the Government is pressing ahead with water charges; second, that these charges will go in only one direction, which is up; third, that the metering programme will continue and that metered charges are the endgame here; and fourth, that there is still no constitutional guarantee of a right to water.

The Tánaiste made a big deal of the €100 rebate that will be administered through her Department. She seems to be incapable of getting it, however. There are many families who cannot pay any charge whatsoever. Easy payment plans and other methods of extracting this money simply do not cut it.

They cannot wait six months to get back €100, they do not have €100 to give. People did not march looking for capped charges, flat charges or threats of penalties. They did not march to have their landlords turned into water tax collectors or to have unpaid water charges attached to the family home. They did not march for concessions but for abolition. The Tánaiste answered the questions she was not asked and failed to answer the core demand of people the length and breath of the country.

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