SINN FÉIN TRYING TO RIDE TWO HORSES ON WATER CHARGES - KENNY

Posted on October 10, 2014 1:02 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Labour TD, Sean Kenny, has said that Sinn Féin is totally inconsistent on the issue of water charges.

"What Sinn Féin is doing is like trying to ride two horses at the same time. Just a month ago, Pearse Doherty, the Sinn Féin finance spokesperson, said on Morning Ireland that Sinn Féin were not going to start laying down pre-conditions for going into a coalition government, and he specifically said that getting rid of water charges would not be a pre-condition."

"Strangely, just two weeks after that, Mary Lou McDonald suddenly came out to declare the abolition of water charges as an issue that would be a pre-condition for going into government. She actually had the gall to say that Sinn Féin had a commitment to reversing water charges was 'steadfast'."

"The fact of the matter is that Sinn Féin is contradicting itself, and doing so in a very short timeframe. It demonstrates that they have no commitment to anything, that they will change the facts to suit themselves, regardless of the facts. Sinn Féin cannot be trusted on the economy, they cannot be trusted on any economic policy matter."

"Sinn Féin could have abolished water charges in the North of Ireland, where they actually are in Government, but did not do so. The Sinn Féin minister in charge of water services, Conor Murphy, had the opportunity to reverse water metering but made no attempt to do so. In actual fact, a comprehensive water metering programme took place across domestic properties in Northern Ireland."

"Conor Murphy also spent four years saying that the Executive, which governs Northern Ireland and on which Sinn Féin plays a leading role, might abolish water charges. On November 11th 2010, Murphy was featured in an article in the Daily Mirror where he said that water charges were likely to be ruled out on a permanent basis. But this didn't happen - the issue just kept getting put off and will keep getting put off until at least 2016."

"As a democratic country it is healthy for the government to face opposition. But it should be constructive opposition, not opposition that changes every couple of weeks depending on what way the wind is blowing. Sinn Féin is not being sincere on water charges and if they are not being sincere on that issue, it begs the questions as to whether they are being sincere on anything else."