Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The wilful waste of water is the fault of the infrastructure and successive Governments, of which the Taoiseach's party and his partners, the Fianna Fáil Party, have been lead exponents, and not, as suggested by the Taoiseach, the result of the population with wild abandon wilfully wasting water. This matter was settled last year at the ballot box. The democratic view of the people was that water charges be abolished, not suspended. That is the considered view of the people. It is also a view mirrored in the Oireachtas. A commitment was given to respect that democratic view.

Now it seems, however, that the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, knows better than the Oireachtas and the people who voted. In fact, he does not. It is imperative that the Minister and the Taoiseach respect the wishes of the people, as democratically expressed. I want an answer to the question I asked earlier and which I will repeat. Is the Taoiseach prepared to legislate for the abolition of water charges? Will he give a "Yes" or a "No" answer to indicate his position?

See this speech in context