Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The reason this amendment is not what it purports to be is because it can be removed by a future Government or Dáil, depending on the complexion of the majority, through a simple vote on legislation. The absolute guarantee against privatisation is not making a market commodity of this crucial resource called water. Do not parcel it up so that it can then become a focus of pressure from European multinationals and the European bureaucracy for privatisation as a commodified resource. Abolishing water charges is the protection against privatisation. The Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, made certain accusations against us. Based on 2012 figures, an increase of 0.2% in the corporation tax rate would bring in far more money than water charges next year, not to mention the financial transaction tax and other options.

In December 1996, the current Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, who was then the Minister for the Environment in a Labour Party-Fine Gael Government, had the good sense to announce to the country, following a movement of people power, that water charges would be abolished. Rural water schemes gained tremendously from a campaign that was waged mainly in Dublin in advance of that abolition. Lobby groups were, quite rightly, formed to demand resources for group water schemes and they managed to get substantial extra resources for these schemes-----

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