Michael Fitzmaurice TD has called on politicians to take a responsible attitude when debating the future of Irish Water and water charges and advised them “not ask people to do things that they may regret later”.
Speaking on RTE Radio programme “The Late Debate” he said “Let us have the debate about Irish Water and water charges but let’s do it responsibly. Remember when the Household Charge was introduced we had politicians telling people not to pay it and then the people who didn’t pay were saddled with bills of hundreds of Euro after the Revenue Commissioners were given the task of collecting the charge and the politicians who were advocating non payment hit for the hills. An equitable solution to these problems can be found but we have to have proper and responsible debate and not knee jerk reactions that will benefit no one in the long run.”
“The people who are paying for their water for decades in group schemes have got to be factored into any possible solution with regard to water charges” he concluded.