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

It is definitely not agreed because we should be having a debate here today if the Government wants to postpone further the deadline for the water committee. Second, we should not be doing it at all. I guess we have had more than 50 hours of discussion in committee. We have had years of discussion in society and the matter was an important issue during the general election campaign. We have enough evidence to decide to get rid of water charges once and for all. It must be asked, and people are asking this, why we need to postpone things again. People are rightly concerned that this is an opportunity to create space for some sort of backroom deal between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. That is why people will come out onto the streets on Saturday, 8 April. At the very least, we need a debate today on the further postponement.

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