Micheál Martin is playing with words on water charges

The man who would walk on water now has treacle on his tongue.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has spent the past week attempting to explain his party's shifting position on water charges, against pressure from Fine Gael for being populist and from Sinn Féin for performing a U-turn.

Martin, undeniably the politician of the year, has not been under such scrutiny since his engineering of the confidence and supply agreement to facilitate the Fine Gael-led minority Government.

It was during those negotiations that Fianna Fáil forced the suspension of water charges, effectively for the duration of this Dáil.

It had argued for a five-year suspension, even though Fine Gael believed at one stage that Martin’s negotiators were ready to allow some class of charging system remain, albeit with very generous allowances.

Martin’s manoeuvring on water charges since then deserves scrutiny and cannot be waved away with his claims of utter consistency.

Fianna Fáil’s agreement to charge for water as part of the troika bailout is the benchmark against which all other shifts should be measured.

When it emerged that the party, in a submission to the Expert Commission on Domestic Public Water Services, called for a permanent end to water charges, Martin claimed this was entirely consistent with its general election manifesto of earlier this year.

Except that it wasn’t.

The manifesto said the following: “Abolish Irish Water and scrap water charges.” It argued the last Government imposed a “water charges regime where families are paying for a service that does not deliver”.

Five years

“People should not be expected to pay for a service that is not up to standard,” it said. At the very event to launch the manifesto, Martin was pressed on this position and explained it would apply for five years.

“We’ve made it clear that we will be abolishing Irish Water and there will be no charges for the next five years,” he said.

“Our key policy, as it has been over the last number of years, is fix the system first before we levy charges and obviously we will consider that situation in 2021.”

The system must be fixed “before we levy charges” – an acceptance that charges will come at some stage.

In July, Martin repeated his election position that abolishing charges was for the “the lifetime of the next government”. He refused to be drawn on whether Fianna Fáil agreed with some kind of charge, saying he was “loath to say we would support one or the other”.

The Fianna Fáil submission lodged earlier this month to the water commission, which is examining how water services should be funded, changed tack in a subtle but very important way.

The primary argument shifted away from the idea that people should not pay for an inadequate water system. Instead, it said charging is no longer required because the economic crisis has passed.

“Owing to the failure to implement a fair and effective water charge regime and the end of financial emergency measures, it is impossible to see how water charges can remain.

“The public recognise that improving economic circumstances mean that it is possible to address the water infrastructure needs through investment from taxation.”

An accompanying information note sent to party TDs was even more blunt. “Water charges have failed and are costing the State money. It’s time to bring them to a complete end.”

Contribution principle

Somewhat confusingly, the note added: “Fianna Fáil is not opposed to the principle of people making a contribution to the upkeep of our water supply as many households across the country already do . . . We have no plans to introduce a water charges regime.”

Martin furthermore this week said he does not “envisage” charges “coming back”, only for certain party figures to claim they could return at some stage in the future after all.

Many in Fianna Fáil maintain the idea of charging for water has been dead since the confidence and supply deal. Some in Fine Gael wishfully believe that Fianna Fáil will have to accept a charging system if the water charges commission recommends one.

Martin has spent the past few months playing with words.

Perhaps the commission’s conclusions, due later this year, will eventually force him to take a definite position once and for all. But don’t count on it.