by Kathy Masterson
LIMERICK councillors were divided along party lines this week regarding a motion calling on the local authority to abandon water charges.
The motion, tabled at the Metropolitan District meeting by Anti-Austerity Alliance councillor Cian Prendiville, asked the council to write to the Ministers for the Environment and Justice calling on them “to scrap draconian plans to bring water bill non-payers to court”.
The motion also urges the Ministers “to follow the example of the old Limerick City Council and abandon the water charges, and instead fund the service through progressive taxation”.
Cllr Prendiville told the meeting that the Government is “all bark and no bite” and that “Irish Water still can’t take money from people’s wages and social welfare payments”.
He added that it would “cost millions and take millennia” to initiate court proceedings against every person who refuses to pay their water charges.
Comhairleoir Séighin Ó Ceallaigh (SF) said he agreed with the motion because “water is a basic human right; people should not be charged for it”.
“The Government has lost the mandate of the people, they lost it a long time ago,” he added.
Fianna Fáil councillor Shane Clifford commented: “Irish Water have been completely discredited by the Government. It must be very difficult for the Fine Gael and Labour councillors to come in here and defend the indefensible.
“What should have happened is the system should have been fixed. When we’re not losing 50 per cent of our water every day then we can talk about water charges.”
His fellow Fianna Fáil councillor James Collins pointed out: “Irish Water is a Government creation of Fine Gael and Labour. We do need investment in water infrastructure, but if the money used to create Irish Water had been invested in the infrastructure, then the charges wouldn’t be as high.”
The motion was passed after receiving unanimous support from members of opposition parties, however councillors from the Government parties Fine Gael and Labour voted against it.
Fine Gael councillor Daniel Butler remarked: “I don’t want to be associated with this motion. I’m very much pro water charges. If we want to maintain services we need water charges. I agree that Irish Water haven’t done the greatest job so far, and hopefully that will change.”
Labour councillor Joe Leddin also disagreed with the motion and said: “The Anti-Austerity Alliance are anti-everything. They’re anti-charges but they want the best of services.”
His party colleague Elena Secas suggested that local councillors should focus on local issues and commented: “We spend a lot of time discussing things that we really can’t resolve at local level. If we write a letter to the Ministers and get a response, what do we really achieve from that?”
