Varadkar backs rival Coveney in water row
Minister aims to catch out FF on charges law Independents want householder refunds Martin’s TDs uneasy over rural backlash
LEO Varadkar has backed his Fine Gael leadership rival Simon Coveney in the high-stakes battle with Fianna Fáil over water charges.
The Social Protection Minister, Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe have all rowed in behind Mr Coveney’s uncompromising approach.
A spokesperson for Mr Varadkar told the Irish Independent that “average taxpayers” should not have to pay for water but he “supports charging for excessive use of water”.
Fianna Fáil has warned it will collapse the minority Government if Mr Coveney refuses to legislate for the total abolition of charges on the back of a recommendation from the committee on the future funding of water.
However, Mr Coveney reiterated he will not introduce legislation that will result in Ireland being hit with massive fines by the EU.
“I don’t think anybody could realistically expect me to do that,” he said, adding that his view is guided by the Attorney General.
But the Irish Independent understands that the Housing Minister has briefed his Fine Gael colleagues on a plan to effectively “turn the tables” on Fianna Fáil.
He will tell Micheál Martin’s party to bring its own legislation to the Dáil floor where the Government will “facilitate” its passage by allowing the necessary debating time.
If the bill was to pass, it would then be up to President Michael D Higgins to decide whether to sign it into law.
Despite the staunch position being adopted by the Fianna Fáil hierarchy, a number of rural TDs have privately expressed deep unease about the row.
They fear a backlash from constituents who pay into group water schemes if the party forces a situation whereby people living in urban areas are allowed to waste water and face no consequences.
Meanwhile, Independent Alliance Minister Shane Ross has said householders who paid their water bills should now get refunds.
“Those who paid them should get their money back because it’s obvious that the pursuit of those that didn’t pay them is not going to continue,” he said.
TEN days before Christmas, Simon Coveney walked into the Dáil bar just ahead of last orders, looking tired but victorious.
It was a rare appearance in the visitors’ area of the pub by the minister who is often accused of being too quiet.
On the night in question, he would have been within his rights to raise a toast to a good day’s work, having fended off demands from Fianna Fáil that had tested the ‘confidence and supply’ arrangement to the limit.
Instead, he joined the small group of journalists and Leinster House staff sipping, looking more grateful for the seat than the pint of Miwadi.
There was no outward gloating about how he had just faced down Barry Cowen in the latest game of Dáil brinkmanship to ensure his plan for controversial ‘Rent Pressure Zones’ would be implemented.
But he was more than happy to hear the following morning’s headlines would follow a thread of: ‘Coveney is back in leadership race’.
Having been all but written off in the months before as Leo Varadkar traversed the country meeting the Fine Gael faithful, the Cork TD was back at the centre of the competition with one big win.
At the time, party sources described it as “a major victory”, albeit his high-wire negotiating act had made them nervous.
Ministers spoke about how the win could set a new tone for the relationship between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
They were feeling beaten down by Micheál Martin’s party’s grip on power but abdication of responsibility. The Coveney win gave them a morale boost heading into the festive break.
No doubt it’s a scenario the Housing Minister and his supporters have thought about in the months since.
Standing up to Fianna Fáil, in a way that Taoiseach Enda Kenny wasn’t able to, gave his leadership campaign a massive shot in the arm just when it looked like his main rival might get a coronation. Up to that point, Fianna Fáil had focused its firepower and criticism on Mr Varadkar, assuming he was the pretender to the throne.
The dust settled on the rent row but, last weekend, the ‘Sunday Independent’ revealed details of a behindclosed-doors address Mr Coveney made in Kerry during which he issued an unexpected election warning.
He told Fine Gael members that, should he be elected party leader, he intends to “draw a line in the sand” with his constituency rival Mr Martin.
And he warned that if Fianna Fáil crossed that line, then it would be to blame if a snap election was necessary.
“Every now and again when we are in government and we are being pushed by Fianna Fáil, we will have to draw a line in the sand and say we are not crossing that line and, if you force us to, well, then be responsible for the consequences for that – including an election,” he said.
THE revelation was met with fury in Fianna Fáil, who accused him of “arrogance”. But within days it seems Mr Coveney has found that line. He told reporters he did not want an election and “hoped” it wouldn’t come to that – but also indicated he would not, under any circumstances, abolish water charges completely.
The minister would be “surprised” if Fianna Fáil tried to force his hand given that the Attorney General would consider such a move illegal. Asked why he spoke out before the committee on water reached its conclusions, he said: “I felt the need to put it on the table that I have very clear advice that is consistent with what the Expert Commission has also said.”
Of course he insisted that willingness for an all-out war with Fianna Fáil for the second time in little over two months was nothing to do with the leadership battle under way in Fine Gael.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with my personal ambition,” Mr Coveney insisted yesterday, adding that he was merely responding to “a very clear and hard-line position” outlined by Fianna Fáil.
Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald was a bit more cynical in the Dáil, wondering whether the minister’s “new tough guy stance has more to do with the leadership battle within Fine Gael than anything else”. Taoiseach Enda Kenny responded with an unconvincing laugh.
“Deputy Coveney intervened in a most inappropriate manner in an attempt to influence the committee’s work before it concludes. Essentially, he is trying to shoehorn the committee with exaggerated claims of the supposed illegality of the abolition of water charges. The minister should stop interfering in the work of this committee immediately,” the Sinn Féin deputy leader said.
On the plinth, Fianna Fáil’s spokesman on water, Barry Cowen, belted out a similar assault on Mr Coveney, saying his statements were “premature, unprecedented and nothing but political”.
It made little impact though because within a couple of hours Mr Coveney was fielding water-related questions at a press conference in Dublin’s City Hall, saying: “Don’t forget Barry Cowen was pretty active on media yesterday as well, outlining a pretty
hard-line Fianna Fáil position. I could get into the politics of that but I’m not going to.”
Whether or not the leadership is playing on Mr Coveney’s mind, the outcome of the water row will have a big bearing on it.
Mr Varadkar has long been seen as the minister with his finger on the pulse. He was the first to call the Garda whistleblowers “distinguished” and he showed no hesitancy in criticising Donald Trump.
He has had fights with Fianna Fáil too, most notably over the Budget Day increases for social welfare recipients. He got a draw.
It’s clear Mr Coveney is pitching himself as the man to beat Fianna Fáil. If he wins again, it will be a big step towards the leadership – but his supporters are once again nervous at the level of risk involved.