Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I spoke with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, last week when he telephoned me. In that call the Minister suggested the outline of the committee, on the basis that there would be fair representation of all the Dáil groups and that there would be one Fianna Fáil and one Fine Gael representative from the Seanad and two others. On that basis I said that I would have to take the proposal back to our group but that it seemed reasonable. We would have to consider whether we would engage with this committee at all because, as the Minister knows, it was our opinion that the committee was not necessary and the Dáil should have decided the issue on the back of the election.

However, given that the committee is happening, we want to participate in it and the Minister's proposal, as outlined on the telephone, seemed reasonable. Then, however, something else happened. It turned out that the Seanad would not decide the two other positions beyond the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael representatives, it would be Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael who would decide those positions - and the balance of the committee - in some sort of back room negotiations that Fine Gael was obviously having with Fianna Fáil. That is when things began to go off the rails as far as we are concerned. Let us be clear that this means the Seanad representation on it changes the balance of the committee in favour of those who have associations with one of the two major parties. This is against the likely representation, if the Seanad itself had decided, of a choice of at least one of those other representatives to be from the camp who are opposed to water charges. This is why we think it looks like a stitch-up.

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