‘We’ve always been against the charges,’ says FF deputy

FIANNA Fáil TD Charlie McConalogue has defended his party’s stance over water charges amid questions that it was planning to introduce the levy back in 2009.

The party is now promising to abolish both Irish Water and charges – the latter at least until the next term of government.

But when it was put to Donegal deputy Mr McConalogue that Fianna Fáil was planning charges as far back as the Budget speech in 2009, he said: ‘I would point out to them our record over the last five years which shows we did not support water charges and in our last five pre-budget submissions we were not in favour of water charges.’

In recent months Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and his team have been insisting that the creation of Irish Water was a Fine Gael idea – and that’s true. Fine Gael as far back as early 2009 called for a new national body to take over the responsibility of 43 different local authorities acting independently. They even gave it the name, ‘Irish Water’ and it was in the Fine Gael manifesto for the June 2009 local elections.

The party campaigned on it, although the idea of how it would be paid for was deliberately soft-pedalled.

Instead it was left to Fianna Fáil to specifically promise to introduce annual charges for the use of treated water by households. In the midst of deep economic crisis, late finance minister Brian Lenihan in his Budget speech of December 9, 2009 announced that preparations for water charges, to be paid by every home not on a group water scheme or without its own well was already.

He also made it clear that, when introduced, the charges would be based on consumption by every household above a free allocation. The Green Party then forced a commitment to introduce water meters on the basis of the ‘polluter pays’ principle, so that there would be a lower cost for those who used water conservatively.

Mr Lenihan put it like this: ‘The Renewed Programme also contains a commitment to introduce a system of water metering for homes. Preparations are underway. Water charges, when introduced, will be based on consumption above a free allocation.’

However, in the run-up to this general election Fianna Fáil senator Senator Byrne said the memo was brought by then Green Party leader John Gormley but was simply a discussion document.

‘This was their grand plan, essentially, ultimately to privatise the water system. We made no decision whatever in relation to any water utility. That never came up in cabinet,’ Mr Byrne said last month.