Coveney urges Fianna Fáil to compromise on water charges amid

MINISTER Simon Coveney will ask Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen to meet him in the coming days in a desperate attempt to break a deadlock on water that threatens to shorten the Government’s life span.

However, government sources last night described a compromise suggested by Fianna Fáil as ‘unworkable’. Fianna Fáil had proposed that the 2007 Water Services Act, which would prosecute people for excessive use of water, should be used to deal with wastage. However, senior government sources dismissed this last night, saying: ‘That 2007 Act is not fit for this purpose. It would mean bringing people to court and criminally prosecuting them for excessive use and we do not want to do that.’

The two sides remain far apart on the issue. Fine Gael believes that excessive use of water should be charged for, as recommended by the expert commission.

However, Fianna Fáil believes that evidence heard during the Water Committee at Leinster House shows that charging is not necessary.

Fine Gael is willing to compromises on everything else, including reimbursing those who have paid their water charges.

In an exclusive interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday, Mr Coveney, left, extended conciliatory words to Fianna Fáil.

‘I’m more than willing to meet Barry Cowen,’ he said. ‘If the Government is going to function and if the confidence and supply agreement means anything, Barry Cowen and myself need to have a good working relationship and the respect that goes with that.

‘I cannot introduce legislation that I believe to be legally flawed, so we just need to work out a solution that is legally sound and compliant with the water framework directive and that works in practice.

‘Also, it has to be politically acceptable to broader society because water has been a