Those who marched against plans to introduce a water charge in 2015 and 2014 were “absolutely right” to do so, according to a People Before Profit councillor.

On Lunchtime Live today, Dún Laoghaire Cllr Melissa Halpin said that “water is a basic right” and should not be charged in any way.

Former independent Senator Pádraig Ó Céidigh told Newstalk earlier that nothing has been done by the Government years after accepting recommendations to charge households that use excessive levels of water.

Cllr Halpin thinks charging households would be ignoring the problem.

“There is no evidence that there is excess use of water by households," she said.

“There is evidence that 50% of our pipes are leaking and that’s the evidence.

“They need to be fixed and that needs to come from investment in Irish Water.

“What we’re doing is privatising water by stealth, by making Irish Water not fit for purpose.”

Protesters burn water bills on O'Connell Street in Dublin, during a demonstration against water charges in January 2015. Picture by: Brian Lawless/PA Archive/PA Images

The PBP councillor said the public shouldn’t be asked to fork over more money to improve water services.

“It’s a basic right, we pay our taxes every year and the idea that the Government is paying €1bn to Irish Water every year is ridiculous, that’s our money and our taxes,” she said.

“Our money is already going to Irish Water so we shouldn’t be double taxed.

“I think it’s a disgrace that the water quality is unreliable in loads of areas around the country, but there is no evidence that there is excess use of water by households”.

Water charge improvements

Treasa Keegan in Celbridge said she originally signed up to pay for water charges in 2014 but that “a lot has happened between then and now”.

“I don’t trust that if I were to pay water charges today the Government would be able to roll out improvements in a reasonable time frame,” she said.

“For that reason, they won’t see a penny from me until some sort of improvement is made.

“We are suffering here from water outages on a regular basis and people are very distressed by it – you can’t rely on it.

“That includes people who have young children like I have and those who have a vulnerability in their house, for whatever reason, that means you need water on a daily basis.”

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Main image: Anti-water charge protestors in Dublin city centre, 21-4-2015. Image: Brendan Donnelly / Alamy Stock Photo