Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

----- going to anti-water charges protests and then having a problem with people criticising him at those anti-water charges protests for being in favour of water charges.

The essence of the amendment is a question of democracy, which this entire process is attempting to subvert. That gets to the heart of it. The points about the European Commission are very important from the opposite point of view to the way the Labour Party sees them. We can see that the European Commission will be used to try to limit the terms of the debate and to say at the end of it that we have no choice but to go along with it. The point is very important. No immediate fines are coming into play here in the very arguable case for a government to make in terms of no established practice. There were three different answers from the Commission over three years, including the first one given to Deputy Kelly, who at the time was an MEP, which was very clear in pointing in the opposite direction.

The Government should not collude in, participate in and drive the process of subversion. Obviously, that is what is what is happening. In particular, it should apply to activate Article 9.4, the effective derogation, the exemption, in its second cycle river-basin management plan proposal. It is very important that the Government does that. Even if it is not in favour of getting rid of water charges, it has established this process that is supposed to be open-ended; it should be allowed to decide.

We will not press amendment No. 8 but there is no reason for the Government to oppose it. By this evening, we will have passed this legislation and by definition it will come in afterwards. We will press amendment No. 9 because it is a question of democracy and it is the only opportunity to raise that question of democratic process here given that everything else was ruled out.

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