Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The imposition of water charges and the other mess that is Irish Water were soundly rejected by the Irish people in February. They were soundly rejected on the streets and in our communities for months before that but the main parties, despite their spin, refused to recognise this complete and indisputable rejection. Hundreds of thousands marched in our towns and cities, organised locally and protested against water meters being forced on their communities with the help of gardaí and private security firms, who harassed and bullied local people and took photographs of the people where they lived. People are still being arrested for protesting peacefully on the streets outside their homes. The people's opposition has not stopped and will not stop.

What political leadership has given the organic development of the anti-water charges movement is clear. Communities have risen up. People power is evident and it is not going away. Even many who voted for the Government are disgusted by the waste of money that is Irish Water. It has already cost the Irish people hundreds of millions of euro, all while much of the water infrastructure of the State is leaking and rotting in the ground before it reaches the homes of the people who have had meters installed. Money which could have done some good was squandered on consultants to develop the master stroke of naming an Irish water company Irish Water.

Today, and for the last few weeks, Fianna Fáil has been trying to backtrack on what it told the people during the election. It has sought to delay charges and kick the can down the road in the hope of giving the party space once again to take some part in running the State. Delays did not work previously and they will not work now. The people did not buy the reduced charge, the delay in metering or even the ridiculous water conservation grant. They will not buy this rubbish either. If Fianna Fáil wished to keep its promise to the people it would support a vote on water charges today, and if Fine Gael had any respect for the will of the people it would facilitate that vote. However, power is always the priority with those two parties, the tweedledum and tweedledee of the gombeen political system.

The people know what this is about, and they reject it. They will not be satisfied because they understand the true nature of what Irish Water represents - the thin edge of the wedge of privatisation. They know that if charges continue they will increase, waivers and grants will disappear and the human right to water will be truly commodified once and for all. We have seen this happen in Detroit where many people in poverty, due to the impossibly high water charges, are now facing eviction. There was also the struggle in Bolivia, where the IMF forced privatisation. Thankfully, that was defeated after a long campaign. In Dublin, bin charges were sold off against the will of the people and we now witness the mess as companies ensure their bottom line, with no concern for affordability. Waivers were promised and delivered, then were weakened and removed. The most vulnerable and worse-off were left to the whim of private companies for an essential service.

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