Carthy tells EU Parliament that Eurostat ruling has finished Irish Water

Speaking in the European Parliament on Monday evening Sinn Féin MEP, Matt Carthy, stated that the decision of Eurostat to rule that Irish Water cannot be placed ‘off-book’ has been the final nail in the coffin for water charges in Ireland. Carthy, who is a member of the Economic & Monetary Affairs committee told MEPs that having already lost the political and economic arguments the government has now also been deprived of any economic rationale.

 

He said:

 

“The July ruling by Eurostat to the Irish Central Statistics Office’s has exposed the pathetic attempts to impose another tax on ordinary families in the guise of water conservation.

 

“Having already lost the political and democratic argument Irish Water has now also been deprived of any economic rationale.

 

“It is ironic that it was at the behest of the European commission and the ECB that a Fianna Fáil government first proposed the introduction of water charges in Ireland and it is a decision of another EU institution, Eurostat, that Irish Water has to remain on the State’s books that will actually be the final nail in the coffin of this regressive taxation policy.

 

“Contrary to government spin, Eurostat are clear that Irish Water cannot reach any sort of ‘off book’ status especially with such a high non-payment rate. Their report is a damning attack on the incompetence that has been the hallmark of Irish water’s existence.

 

“It is time for the Irish Government and the European institutions to accept the wishes of the Irish people and scrap water charges once and for all”.

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