Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting to note the wide divergence between the Minister and Deputy Barry Cowen on that particular point. It will be an interesting battle when we come to the legislation to see how those two are going to square that circle. I must say that this week I almost felt sorry for Deputy Barry Cowen. It must be hard when one's party, fearing a general election, throws one to the wolves. I also felt sorry for the Fianna Fáil members of the Committee on Future Funding of Domestic Water Services. In the space of four weeks, they had four different positions on charging for so-called excess use and mandatory metering. Last week, they voted against both and on Tuesday they voted for both. They must have whiplash with the speed of their U-turns in that committee. Of course, they will hide behind the legal advice to the committee-----

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