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Dáil talk
State of the Nation: What do people make of the new water charges package?
Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening in Irish politics right now…
HERE IS THEJOURNAL.IE’s comprehensive guide to what’s happening in the political world this morning.
Everyone’s talking about…
We’ll give you two guesses.
Yes, water charges are dominating political press coverage again today. Following on from the Government’s confirmation of a widely-leaked set of revised payment measures.
Under the new package, an adult living on their own will pay €60 per year for water when a €100 rebate is included – around €1.15 a week. These capped charges will remain in place until 1 January 2019. People who don’t register will receive an automatic €260 bill and will not qualify for the €100 rebate. Over four years of non-payment, penalties would accumulate to €1,640.
Reaction to the new package has been mixed, with Fianna Fáil’s Environment Spokesman Barry Cowen describing it as a ”massive climbdown” by the coalition.
Socialist Party TD Paul Murphy told Morning Ireland that he thought people would still boycott the charges. ”People are no longer afraid of the Government, they’re increasingly aware that the Government is afraid of them,” he said.
Speaking on the same programme, Environment Minister Alan Kelly ruled out any further concessions.
A second day of debate on water charges will take place in the Dáil today.
The agenda
- 10am: Representatives from the Courts service will appear before the Public Accounts Committee (Room 1).
- 12pm: Tánaiste Joan Burton will be answering Leaders’ Questions.
- 12.51pm: The debate on water charges will continue in the Dáil.
What the others are saying…
- Former junior minister Fergus O’Dowd threatened to resign after Irish Water said they would publicly contradict him, the Irish Times reports.
- Gerry Ryan, the Ansbacher dossier whistleblower, has questioned the legal advice the Public Accounts Committee received telling the Oireachtas group that it couldn’t investigate his claims, according to the Irish Independent.
- The same paper is reporting Arts Minister Heather Humphreys thinks that in the future Halloween celebrations should focus on the occasion’s ancient Celtic origins, rather than trick-or-treating.
In case you missed it…
- Alan Kelly’s constituency office received a bomb threat yesterday.
- An adoption rights group has welcomed the news that the Government will not oppose a new Bill that would give adoptees a right to their birth certs.
- America’s National Public Radio is not happy with Irish ministers.
- The EU will be investing over €3 billion in Ireland over the next seven years.
- Gerry Adams questioned why Bob Geldof and the Queen are in the 1916 centenary video while signatories of the Proclamation failed to make the cut.
On the Twitter machine…
Mick Wallace is a DailyEdge fan.
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