Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Then there was the "Prime Time" programme on 1 March. It is my view that if the suspension or abolition goes ahead, it will cost us more in the long run.

There is one vital question: are Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael acting within the law? Does the decision to suspend water charges run contrary to EU law and, in particular, Article 9 of the water framework directive? Ireland did have a derogation from water charges, but it was signed away by none other than Fianna Fáil in 2010 which committed to the introduction of domestic water charges at that point. We should note that the directive institutes the principle that the user pays and that costs must be recovered from the user or polluter of water. A failure to do this will likely result in substantial EU fines in the years ahead. Greece and Italy were both hit with fines running to millions of euro that were increasing by the day until environmental issues were tackled by the European Court of Justice.

Why would countries which routinely pay for water grant us a new derogation? Furthermore, the European Commission has described the metering programme as a basic pre-requisite for implementing the directive.

Many people in this House have no idea what Irish Water actually does and there are quite a few who chose not to learn what it does. I agree with former Minister Noel Dempsey that it has been almost impossible to have a rational debate on water for the last few years. As such, I take this opportunity to nail a few myths. First, nobody pays for water twice. Does our water system with boil water notices, leaking pipes and insecure supply look like something that we have paid for? Even in Northern Ireland, every home pays its local rates of which £200 goes to the water company along with general taxation.

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