Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Government is losing and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, is a very bad loser. Once upon a time, not very long ago, the Government seemed strong and the people seemed weak. Then the anti-water charges movement came along and it is now the people who seem strong and the Government-in-waiting which seems weak, nervous and fearful of the people. This is reflected in the emerging deal on water charges.

The hundreds of thousands of people who marched, the 750,000 households which boycotted water charges and the hundreds of communities nationwide that blocked meter installation are responsible for forcing the forthcoming suspension of water charges. The backtracking by the Government parties is vindication of the work done by each and every one of these campaigners, all of whom I congratulate.

We are in favour of the abolition, as opposed to the suspension, of water charges. Once this particular car has stopped and the engine has cooled, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will have a bloody hard job restarting the motor and getting it back on the road. In France people say what parliament does, the street can undo. This refers to the power of the working class - the broad mass of people - to make and break governments and unpopular and wrong government decisions. This tradition is taking root in this republic and what has been started on water charges can and, I hope, will be done on pay, housing and other issues.

Who is making the concessions this week? While it is true that Fine Gael is being forced to backtrack, parties that campaigned in favour of water charges in the general election are in a minority in the House, whereas parties that campaigned against them are in the majority. By kicking the can down the road and keeping water charges on life support, it is the Fianna Fáil Party that is making concessions. Why should that surprise anyone, given that it is the party that first discussed water charges in the Cabinet? According to Cabinet records released under freedom of information legislation, the Cabinet discussed water charges twice in 2010, incidentally at a rate of €500 per annum. Instead of abolishing Irish Water, as it promised in the general election, Fianna Fáil is agreeing to keep it in place. Instead of ending water charges, as it undertook to do in its manifesto, it is keeping them on life support.

The purpose of the proposed commission will be to try to save water charges. People cannot place any trust in Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil on this matter. Irish Water must be abolished and water charges scrapped. The metering programme must be stopped and all arrears of non-payers written off. Those who paid, often under duress, must have their moneys repaid and all charges against those who bravely campaigned against water charges must be dropped. Last but not least, the Government must invest €1 billion per annum in water infrastructure. The money to do so is available. The Sunday Times rich list published at the weekend showed that the richest 250 people in Ireland own €73 billion. A modest millionaire tax would be more than enough to cover this investment.

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