The Right to Water Charge movement says they want to use what they are calling as a ‘victory’ on the water charges issue as a ‘type of politics’ to change society for the better.
The oireachtas committee on the future of domestic water charges is expected to recommend to government later this month that water should be paid for through general taxation and people who have paid the charges should be refunded.
However, tension is growing between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail today after Minister Simon Coveney said that EU law says excessive use of water has to be paid for and the goverment will be bound by those guidelines.
Fianna Fail has sided with the majority of political groups and parties in calling for a ban including a ban on extra charges being imposed on those using needless amounts of water.
However, Liam Whyte of the Can’t Pay Won’t Pay campaign in Donegal insists that most people don’t waste water:
Nigel Gallagher of People Before Profit and the Right to Water campaign in Sligo says the water charges issue shows that ‘people-power’ has won the day.
And he says he hopes that this movement can move forward now and use the same politics to improve housing and healthcare for people:
