Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Politics, in my book, is about leadership, and always will be, making the hard decisions and choices and showing leadership, not about following the populist race to the bottom.

I must disagree with my party colleague, who spoke about the charges being refunded. It would be a nonsense to refund charges, and I would hate to see that happen. The law, as laid down in this House for right or wrong, good or evil - we either respect the institution that is Dáil Éireann or we do not - is that water charges are to be applied and people are to pay them. Anybody who has not paid them should be chased by the utility, be it through attachment orders, which we have already legislated for in this House, or whatever other means necessary. We cannot have a two-tier or à la cartesystem. We either have a law we all subscribe to or we do not. Is that what we are going to do now with those who will not pay their TV licences? Is the solution to give everybody else back their money? It is a nonsense beyond all levels imaginable.

We are where we are. We have to negotiate with the Fianna Fáil Party and I respect that. We do not have the mandate that we had previously. I also respect that. We have to compromise.

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