The decision on how the State will fund water services should not be rushed and should not be forced by “political opportunism”, Minister for Housing Simon Coveney told the Dáil.
He called on TDs to “afford the expert commission and the special Oireachtas committee [established to deal with the issue] the further six months required to clearly put the facts before this Oireachtas prior to any decision being taken”.
Domestic water charges have been suspended pending the outcome of the deliberations of the commission, which will report in November.
The Oireachtas will make a final decision in a vote by the end of March on whether or not to retain charges.
During an at-times heated debate, Mr Coveney said he could not be “any clearer on the importance and the implications of the decision we will make next year”.
Contortionists
He was speaking during the two-hour debate on a Sinn Féin motion calling for water charges to be abolished and water services to be funded by the exchequer through “progressive taxation”.
The debate took a turn for the bizarre when Sinn Féin started throwing insults at Fianna Fáil over its stance on the charges.
The party’s health spokeswoman, Louise O’Reilly, said Fianna Fáil had taken “more positions than the Kama Sutra” on the issue of water charges.
Party leader Gerry Adams said he regretted not coming up with that line: “Fianna Fáil and the Kama Sutra. The mind boggles. My teddy bears are virgins, a Chathaoirligh,” he said in reference to his frequent mention of bears on Twitter.
Fianna Fáil environment spokesman Barry Cowen said that if they were talking about the Kama Sutra and U-turns “maybe you should be talking about Houdini and contortionists in respect of your own position” on the issue.
Labour TD Jan O’Sullivan expressed her frustration with the debate, saying it was a repeat of the same debate in May, with the same predictable position taken by everyone.
Ms O’Sullivan said her party believed “there should be a reasonable water allowance for every household” with extra allowances for those such as families with members who have disability issues.
After that everyone should pay for the extra water they use.
Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy was reprimanded by Fianna Fáil TD Declan Breathnach, who was chairing proceedings, for going beyond the bounds of the motion when he referred to the “vindictive prosecution of a 17-year-old man over the protest in Jobstown two years ago’.
