Fine Gael and Labour have come out strongly against the reintroduction of water charges in the wake of the Minister for Finance's statement of support for them.
Fine Gael's environment spokesman, Mr Bernard Allen, yesterday accused the Government of "kite-flying" on the issue and said his party was opposed to water charges. He blamed the lack of direct Government funding for the financial crisis affecting many local authorities.
Mr Allen's statement of opposition came after another front-bench member said she personally supported local charges in principle. The party's health spokeswoman, Ms Olivia Mitchell, said yesterday that she was personally in favour "of people paying for local services provided they are not also paying for them to central government".
She was responding to a question on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme about the comments by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, this week saying that he supported water charges.
Asked for Fine Gael's view on the subject, Ms Mitchell said she was not aware of it, before indicating personal support for water charges.
Such charges should not go directly into the Exchequer, but to local authorities, she said.
Mr Allen said Fine Gael was against such charges. "In principle we are against imposing another layer of taxation. To try to impose another set of charges on people would be unacceptable," he said.
Labour's environment spokesman, Mr Eamon Gilmore, said his party in government had abolished water charges in 1996 and had no intention of reintroducing them.
The Government's tax-cutting policies were directly responsible for the inability of local authorities to pay for essential services, Mr Gilmore said.
"They are boasting that they cut taxes while talking about introducing regressive taxes such as water charges," he said.
"This comes back to political choice. The Government chose to continue cutting Corporation Tax, to keep tax shelters, and not to tax the bloodstock industry. But a widow with a public water supply is being told by Mr McCreevy that she must pay €200 for it," Mr Gilmore added.
Mr Allen said that the public was already absorbing the one per cent VAT rise and increased health charges. "If water charges are introduced nobody is foolish enough to think they will not grow and become a punitive poll tax,, he said.
He accused the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, of looking at local government funding in a piecemeal way instead of putting together a comprehensive package of reform.
Mr Allen said the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, had failed to secure adequate resources for local government at the Cabinet table. This meant that "almost every local authority in the country will be struggling to maintain services during the year. In fact, local authority services can only be maintained by imposing extra charges on the public.
"Already we have seen over 30 per cent increases in refuse charges, 7 per cent increases in commercial rates and hefty increases in car parking rates. Therefore the proposed €200 water charge would increase the burden on every household in Ireland to an unacceptable level.
"How times have changed since before the election, with a Government full of promises being transformed to one bankrupt of ideas, now demanding the Irish people pay for the extravagance and out of control spending the Government used to get re-elected," Mr Allen said.