David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I did not state what we want is exactly what is in the North. I stated we will end up with a raft of individual charges, all regressive, not based on ability to pay and moving away from direct taxation which I believe is deeply unfair.

The Minister of State also spoke about unaccounted for water which is a problem. He also spoke about where the meter will be placed. He stated only the first leak will be paid for by Irish Water. On top of paying the charge, if there is a problem the householder will be expected to pay to fix it. This is appalling. People will be asked to pay the tax itself and will then be told the first problem will be paid for but then they will have to paddle their own canoe.

The Minister of State mentioned the huge cost of water charges in the North. Let there be no doubt once the concept of a charge is introduced it only goes one way, which is up. People will pay comparable rates to those paid in the UK after a very short time. This concerns many people because it goes to the heart of the argument I make, that the full cost of water services will be passed on to the customer, the customer being the household. A cash register will be placed outside their front doors in the form of a meter and they will be charged for the full cost. It will be intolerable for many families who simply will not be able to pay. The Government has no intention of introducing an ability to pay element. It will not be based on income.

We heard the same about the household charge when we were also asked to buy a pig in a poke. I remember the debate we had on the household charge. The Government thought it would sail through, that as it was only €100 or €200 people would not resist it. There was much opposition to it. There will be far more opposition to the unfairness of the water charge because the Government is not taking into account ability to pay. It will charge people for a basic and required resource on the back of an EU directive and the troika diktat and not because it is the right thing to do for the people of the State.