Irish Water stalemate is a threat to government formation
Acting taoiseach Enda Kenny and Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin were last night forced to intervene yet again after both sides’ negotiators admitted they are failing to find any compromise 56 days on from the election.
Despite claims on Thursday by Fine Gael acting agriculture minister Simon Coveney an agreement could be reached by today, both negotiating teams said last night no deal will happen before Monday, if at all.
Senior party members on both sides of the divide said they have reached a stage where they cannot progress the dispute further due to the ongoing disagreement over whether charges should be suspended or an allowance system introduced — later warning a deal may now be unlikely.
While both sides referenced housing, education, and rural affairs as key stumbling blocks alongside Irish Water, it is understood the latter is the only real problem and that the other issues come down to legitimate questions over whether there is enough money to pay for election plans.
The staunch positions were taken after a day of talks and a technical briefing over how a new water charges system could work.
Despite a belief the information could help resolve matters, Fianna Fáil remains entrenched in the belief charges must be suspended for the lifetime of the next Dáil and that it must be examined by an independent commission.
Fine Gael similarly remains adamant any “moratorium” on charges would be short-term and that allowances are the way forward, while it believes an independent commission would drag the controversy on for months.
It emerged last night that Fianna Fáil are also pushing for an independent commission to be set up to examine the future of the water system. Fine Gael, for their part, are maintaining that a new charging system can be implemented, inevitably with lower rates, instead of freezing water bills.
Mr Kenny and Mr Martin are due to speak again today in the hope of resolving the matter before the Dáil sits again on Tuesday — a move some have noted ensures no deal is published before Sinn Féin’s ard fheis this afternoon.
Raising temperatures further, senior Fianna Fáil officials last night said their party will “vote in line with our policy” opposing water charges if left-wing TDs put down a motion to scrap the bills as expected next week.
Alongside the 39 left-wing TDs already in favour of the motion, the support of 43 Fianna Fáil TDs would ensure the motion passes — ending any hope of a government formation deal.
