Citizens didn’t vote for a suspension of Water Charges claims Crowe

Dublin South West and Sinn Féin TD has said that since its initial proposal, the prospect of water charges has infuriated ordinary people the length and breadth of this country, with people coming together from different backgrounds and revolting against this unjust tax taking to the streets in their hundreds of thousands.

Crowe believes the electorate gave the majority of TDs elected to the Oireachtas a mandate to abolish the charges certainly not to suspend or somehow delay their implementation and that mandate needs to be respected and acted on. The Dublin South West TD was speaking following a motion he sponsored was defeated by 38 to 59 in the Dáil

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“Since its initial proposal, the prospect of water charges has infuriated ordinary people the length and breadth of this country. It was a tax too many and people had enough. Citizens from different backgrounds came together, revolted against this unjust tax and took to the streets in their hundreds of thousands.

“Hundreds of thousands of people also reflected their anger at the ballot box and in February this year, the majority of Irish people voted for TDs to scrap water charges and to end the entity called Irish Water.

“Most of the Dáil deputies elected to the Oireachtas made pre-election pledges to abolish water charges and to do away with the entity known as Irish Water including even Fianna Fáil. The new deal struck between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael only managed to secure a ‘suspension’. People do not want a delay or suspension, they want the charges abolished.

“Irish Water and water charges are an affront and a tax too far for many people across this land. It is time for this new Government to respect the democratic will of the people and to end this shambolic situation once and for all.

“The path forward is clear; abolish domestic water charges immediately, establish a public water and sanitation board to deliver water on the basis of need, and set a date for a referendum to enshrine the public ownership of water services in Bunreacht na hÉireann.” ENDS

Note to Editor: Pat Buckley TD, Cllr Natalie Treacy, Louise O’Reilly TD, Seán Crowe TD, Cllr Enda Fanning, Denise Mitchell TD and Maurice Quinlivan TD at a protest against water charges on the day of the vote for Sinn Féin’s PMB below.

Sinn Féin motion:

That Dáil Éireann:
notes that a majority of Deputies elected to the Thirty-second Dáil made clear pre-election pledges to end water charges;

and calls on the Government to:
— immediately abolish domestic water charges;

— establish a public water and sanitation board to deliver water on the basis of need; and

— set a date for a referendum to enshrine the public ownership of water services in the Constitution of Ireland.