David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

However, what can be said for certain is that a majority of Deputies who were elected to this Chamber, to the Thirty-second Dáil, were voted in on the basis of a clear policy position to scrap water charges or abolish them. A minority, including the party of the Minister of State, Deputy English, and the Labour Party, did not receive a majority because of their views on water charges and a range of other issues. That much is clear. The Minister of State says he accepts the sincerity of Sinn Féin on the issue and he knows and understands that at least we are honest about our position that we are opposed to water charges.

The Minister of State says some people use this for political gain or reasons of political expediency. He is right, but he is talking about his coalition partners in Fianna Fáil. Its Deputies are the very ones who have used this for political gain. It is the party that has done more U-turns on this issue than every other party in the State. That is what it has done.

We need to understand what all of this was about in the first place, why we are at the point we are at and Fianna Fáil cannot bring itself, not once but twice, to support a motion which agrees with its so-called publicly stated policy. When Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were trying to tie the knot a number of months ago and held meetings in Trinity College Dublin, one of the stumbling blocks was water charges. In an attempt to make sure there would be no pre-nuptial agreement they agreed to set up a commission to get both parties off the hook. Everybody can see that, as it is both clear and transparent. That was the gap between the two parties, if there was a gap. We know that Fine Gael is absolutely supportive of water charges and absolutely against them being scrapped. What we do not know for certain is Fianna Fáil's position. My view is that it was looking for cover for its position on water charges which conveniently was provided by the commission. That is what this is about. If Fianna Fáil is honest, wants to stick to its public conviction and position that it is absolutely opposed to water charges, if it has finally come around to Sinn Féin's view and done a 180-degree turn that water charges should be abolished and that water should be paid for through general taxation, what is stopping it from supporting the motion? It states the only thing that is stopping it is the commission, which proves the point I made. Fianna Fáil is waiting for the commission to give it the out it is looking for. That is what this is about.

The people expect us to deliver and do what we were elected to do. Those who put their X and the numbers 1 and 2 on ballot papers to vote "Yes" on range of issues, including this one, expect us to implement the will of the people. It is very clear that, on this issue, their will is that water charges should go. When are they going to go? The people could be given a clear signal today that water charges will go if the majority of those who say they are opposed to them support the motion. That is what I appeal to Fianna Fáil to do.

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