David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The point is that the thrust of European policy, what they want, is polluter pays, full cost recovery. In time, that is where this is going to go and people know that. That is why people are not going to be fooled or bribed into the principle of it. Once they buy into it and start paying it will go up and up. Once that does happen, and this goes right to the heart of the Sinn Féin concern, notwithstanding the fact that it is unfair to tax people twice for water, there are families out there who cannot afford to pay and are making real choices every day about what bill to pay. Leaving that aside, there is a real danger that once we commodify and commercialise water and once the price goes up and up, the profiteers, sharks and billionaires out there who are eyeing up our water infrastructure will be very quick to swoop in and buy it up. I would not trust any future right-wing Government at least not to sell our water infrastructure at some time.