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Roisín Shortall has been kicked out of the Dáil in the latest Irish Water row

An independent TD's been kicked out of the Dáil in the latest row over Irish Water. Roisin...
Newstalk
Newstalk

06.41 12 Dec 2014


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Roisín Shortall has been kicke...

Roisín Shortall has been kicked out of the Dáil in the latest Irish Water row

Newstalk
Newstalk

06.41 12 Dec 2014


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An independent TD's been kicked out of the Dáil in the latest row over Irish Water.

Roisin Shortall has been suspended for the day, after complaining that the government isn't answering questions about Irish Water's financial model.

The Dail adjourned last night with confusion over how much the state would have to spend on the 100-euro grant for every home.

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But when business resumed this morning, Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett wouldn't allow that discussion to continue.

He's now facing a motion of no confidence in the coming days - and Roisin Shortall says he's presiding over a "charade":

Meanwhile, the Dáil Ceann Comhairle could be facing a motion of no confidence in the coming days.

TDs from Sinn Féin and the Technical Group are considering the move after the conduct of business in the Dáil this morning.

The Dail adjourned last night with confusion over how much the state would have to spend on the €100 grant for every home.

But when business resumed this morning, the Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett would not allow that discussion to continue.

Some TDs have accused the Ceann Comhairle of subverting the parliamentary process and are likely to make a formal call for his resignation in the coming days.

It comes after new doubts emerged yesterday about the funding model of government for water charges.

It has been claimed that the government will actually have to spend €165m on grants for every home.

That is €35m more than expected.

That is because the Central Statistics Office (CSO) says there are 1.65 million households in Ireland, but the government predicts that only 1.3 million will get the grant.

Yesterday, Richard Boyd-Barrett said if the government has got its figures wrong, it must abandon the project entirely.

"If you think that the fiasco, the outrage, surrounding the issue of Irish Water has been bad to date - if you've got this wrong you are in deep, deep trouble," Mr Boyd Barrett said.


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