History shows the irony of Martin’s opposition to water charges

Having opposed water charges in the February election and since, Micheál Martin is quoted in the beginning of May 2016 as saying that people should still pay their latest Irish Water bill.

The history of the water charge issue and Micheál Martin’s role in it is, therefore, interesting. It was in the December 2009 budget speech that minister for finance Brian Lenihan announced that preparations for water charges were being made.

That was followed by the National Recovery Plan in 2010, which included the installation of meters in 1.2m homes connected to the public water mains supply.