Minister Hogan is going to have to account to Dublin City Council for his proposals to introduce water metering. At last nights monthly meeting Dublin City Council unanimously adopted a Fianna Fail motion expressing concern over recent water restrictions in the city, opposing the introduction of water charges in advance of a reliable water supply and calling on the Minister to attend the next meeting of Dublin City Council to address the issue of water supply.
We are very concerned about the impact of water restrictions on homes and businesses in the City and the negative impact on the city economy.
We tabled an emergency motion to raise the issue with the Minister and to assert our view that the introduction of water charges should not take place in advance of a reliable water supply for the city. Additionally we are concerned about the confusion being caused by the mixed messages from Government and we are asking the Minister with responsibility for water to attend the next meeting of Dublin City Council to address the issue.
The Emergency Motion Stated:The Elected Members of Dublin City Council are greatly concerned about the impact of water restrictions on homes and businesses in Dublin City.
The elected members of Dublin City Council believe that no water charges should be introduced until such time as an effective and reliable water system and metering system exists in the City.
In light of the contradictory messages from Government the elected members of Dublin City Council call on the Minister to address this chamber at the May meeting to outline the immediate steps which he will take to improve the infrastructure in place to supply water to Dublin City. Furthermore this Council calls on the Minister to accept the reality that metering alone will not provide the necessary 1 billion euro required over the next 10 years to improve infrastructure and call on him to outline a funding model which will.
Cllr Mary Fitzpatrick, Tom Brabazon, Julia Carmichael, Deirdre Heney, Paul McAuliffe & Jim O’Callaghan.
