A government TD has accused Fianna Fáil of not being on the side of those who paid their water charges by calling for refunds to be delayed.
Dara Calleary, the Fianna Fáil spokesman on public expenditure, said on Thursday that the government did not know where the €178 million required would come from and said that the refunds should take place over two years. Noel Rock, the Fine Gael Dublin North West TD, said: “Fianna Fáil clearly is not on the side of those who paid their water charges.
“It is absolutely vital that those who paid water charges are no worse off than those who didn’t pay.
“The only policy Fianna Fáil ever had on water was to consistently U-turn on its previous position. Their latest move is a comical continuation of their flip flopping on the issue. They can’t seem to determine their stance on the matter.”
Leo Varadkar has pledged to begin refunding water charges in autumn and said everyone would be repaid by the the year end. Paschal Donohoe, the minister for finance, said on Thursday government spending was running €322 million behind expectations so far this year.
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Mr Calleary had said there was very little financial “wiggle room” to cover the cost of the refunds.