Kenny and Gilmore clash over water charges at Cabinet meeting

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore personally clashed at yesterday's Cabinet meeting on efforts to secure agreement on water charges.

Labour sources claimed Fine Gael attempted to "bounce" the junior Coalition partner into a decision on the charges.

This was denied by those in Fine Gael, who said Mr Kenny felt people needed to know exactly how much they would be expected to pay.

“It was made clear to us that the Taoiseach wanted a decision on it, but nothing had been agreed,” a senior Labour source said.

The two leaders clashed at the Cabinet meeting yesterday, which sources described as “unusual”.

Mr Kenny and Mr Gilmore usually have a one-on-one meeting before Cabinet, but this did not take place yesterday, leading them to express their views strongly in front of Ministers.

“There are discussions between the parties at Cabinet but it would be an unusual situation,” one source said of the direct clash between the pair.

Labour says there are "substantial differences" between the two parties on the broad outline for water charges, the exact levies for which have to be decided by the Commission for Energy Regulation.

Labour sources say the party is mainly concerned about the “assessed charge”, which will be paid by those who are waiting for water meters to be installed. However, those on both sides of Government said there was broad agreement on how the assessed charge would be calculated.

Anyone without meters will have their charge based on similar homes with meters, with a similar number of people, such as two adults and two children, living in them.

Homes without meters will be able to claim a rebate when the meter is installed if their bills are below the assessed charges initially applied. The rebate will be available for a limited period, understood to be two to three months.

Labour is angry that Mr Kenny tried to push through an announcement on water charges while negotiations were continuing.

While discussions have been ongoing for some months, a Labour spokeswoman said they increased in intensity in recent days. There were also discussions on the issue at the Economic Management Council, comprising the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin, but Labour says nothing had been decided.

However, it is understood there is broad agreement on the assessed charge; the average annual charge of about €240 per family; the annual standing charge of €50 or less; and the free allowance of 30,000 litres per adult and 65,000 litres per child a year.

Those with medical needs can apply for an additional allowance. Labour is also pushing for extra relief for social welfare recipients, but Fine Gael is less keen on this.

Major differences
Fine Gael sources last night questioned what major differences remained between the parties, and said a final Government decision would be known after the next Cabinet meeting on April 30th.

Labour said the Taoiseach’s desire to give an indication of the charge before the upcoming elections was “reasonable” but indicated it would not be bound by any targets.

It was also annoyed by what it saw as Fine Gael postponing agreement on the plan for free GP care for children under six until yesterday’s meeting, in effect tying it into the water charges issue.

Mr Gilmore yesterday said there were outstanding issues “that clearly have to be addressed before a decision is made” on water charges.

“They include issues around ability to pay, issues around what happens in the case of households that will be metered because clearly the metering will not be completed until the end of the year,” he added.

He also criticised leaks to the media about the potential extent of water charges. “I think it’s never helpful that issues that have to be discussed by the Government are trawled in the media in advance.”

Meanwhile, Labour TDs and Senators reacted angrily yesterday evening to what they perceived to have been an effort by Fine Gael to push the charging system through. The issue dominated the weekly parliamentary party meeting, with a large number of Labour representatives denouncing Fine Gael’s tactics and behaviour.

Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan and Mr Kenny were criticised harshly by backbench TDs and Senators. In an escalating public rift. party members insisted that no decision be taken until the party was completely satisfied that the charging system was completely fair, especially towards more vulnerable households.