Support pact at risk as Fine Gael accused of abandoning water deal

Fianna Fáil has accused Fine Gael of reneging on an agreement on water charges and “abandoning” a deal, leaving the government support pact at risk.

As both parties turned on each other yesterday over disagreement on the final recommendations to fund the future of water services, tensions mounted and accusations were traded by both sides.

The division is over final terms of the Oireachtas water committee report and saw Fine Gael lose several votes on recommendations yesterday, including on the wastage of water and water meters.

Fine Gael attempts to insert the term ‘excessive’ use of water were voted down; Fianna Fáil and others instead voted to use the word ‘abusive’ when it comes to wasting water.

The final issue that collapsed Fine Gael’s support in the committee and its backing of the report came when the proposal to have water meters installed in new builds and refurbished properties was defeated by Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and others.

By last evening, Labour’s Jan O’Sullivan, a committee member, was warning that the terms of the final report would break EU environmental rules.

The Government would not be able to implement it and Ireland would be subject to fines, she said.

The committee, during the course of the evening, received senior Oireachtas legal advice that the changes and final terms were legal.

Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen released a statement claiming it was Fine Gael which had in fact shifted positions.

He retweeted a week-old tweet by Housing Minister Simon Coveney who had said: “Good work and progress today at Oireachtas Water Committee on getting an outcome we can stand over and support .”

Mr Cowen yesterday claimed this showed Fine Gael had in fact been happy then with the draft terms but was now “abandoning” what had been agreed.

He said: “I am happy that the Fianna Fáil team has behaved with honour and honesty throughout the process and have stuck to all the agreements we have made. It is for others, and in particular the Fine Gael party, to explain why it has walked away from a deal it was championing and taking credit for as recently as last Thursday.”

Mr Coveney fired back on Twitter last night, claiming that changes made by Fianna Fáil to the committee’s report had “fundamentally undermined that deal”.

Committee member and Solidarity TD Paul Murphy then told reporters that what happens next is up to the Government and Mr Coveney.

The committee votes had taken place and decided there would be no new domestic metering or ‘excessive’ charge, and that there would be refunds for bills already paid, he said.

There would be no finality until a Dáil vote is held and legislation passed to abolish charges, said Mr Murphy.

However, there were concerns last night that the government support pact between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail may now be at risk.

Fine Gael is required under the deal to legislate for the report’s recommendations. Mr Coveney has said he will not bring in any laws on water that are, as he claims, contrary to EU law.

Any failure to keep the pact with Fianna Fáil would likely result in a general election.