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

It means saying what suits people when it suits them, as opposed to the words of people who are accused of being populist and who have a consistent principled position of opposition to water charges. I am referring to people who stick to that position and who build movements to vindicate that position. The same people have forced at least some of that position on a reluctant and resistant political establishment made up of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Every concession that has been wrought reluctantly from the twisting, turning and back-sliding Fianna Fáil or from Fine Gael which has at least been consistent as it has always wanted water charges and privatisation and has been pushing for these for at least a decade has been wrought because of the mass popular movement. Of course, that is what both those parties are afraid of. They are fearful of the example it could set for other battles on housing, health and the support of Bus Éireann workers. Hence, the need to go after the people of Jobstown and criminalise them. This was done to ensure there is a bitter taste on the victory of the movement of people power. People power has humiliated the Government and forced it into abolishing water charges, at least for now. The Government desperately wants to leave the back door open.

Let us be clear that the decision to meter new-build houses has nothing whatsoever to do with EU obligations. It does nothing to assist or advance compliance with the charges. Furthermore, the EU directives do not require domestic water charges, as has been suggested. If the Minister does not believe me - I do not care what Gavin Barrett says – I need only utter one word, namely, "Scotland". There are no domestic water charges there. There are no EU enforcement obligations or actions against the Scots.

I am keen to ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, about his new-found concern for EU environment regulations. Does the Minister even know how many cases are currently being taken against Ireland on environmental matters? I am referring to cases in respect of which we will be fined because we are flagrantly in breach of EU environmental directives. We do not hear the Minister or Fianna Fáil talking about these. There are 15 such cases. Five are at the second stage of enforcement. Of itself, this is another revealing fact about the process that the Minister says will lead to certain penalties. These cases have been in train for years. Five of them are at the second enforcement stage but the Government is not saying anything about them, yet it is still flagrantly in breach of them. Interestingly, we still have not been fined.

We do not believe for a minute that the doors the Government has left open have anything to do with compliance with EU directives. They have everything to do with giving the Government the opportunity to come back and restore water charges at some point in the future. That is what the Government is about. At least Fine Gael is more honest in stating it wants water charges. Those from Fianna Fáil simply say whatever suits them at whatever time.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will not get away with it. At every point in this journey the movement of people has trumped them and it will continue to do so. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil need not think they are going to fool the people because the people will be back on the streets if there is any attempt to restore these unjust regressive charges.

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