Alan Kelly accuses Fianna Fáil of ‘environmental treason’

Water charges will be suspended for at least nine months should a deal between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil be agreed, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney told the Dáil yesterday.

Outgoing Environment Minister Alan Kelly launched a blistering attack on the proposed Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil deal to suspend water charges, describing it as “economic and political sabotage”.

In an impassioned address to the Dáil during a debate on the future of Irish Water, Mr Kelly accused Fianna Fáil of “environmental treason” over its call to abolish charges. He warned that the proposed deal has echoes of the 1977 decision to abolish rates, which he said was a massive mistake.