In at the deep end: TDs make maiden speeches on Budget day

Tax rebates on water charges are useless for people whose water is undrinkable, newly elected Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice has told the Dáil.

In an unusual move for new deputies, both Mr Fitzmaurice and Socialist Party TD Paul Murphy, elected in last week’s byelections made their maiden speeches on their first day in Leinster House.

Minister for Children James Reilly and Government Chief Whip Paul Kehoe were the only two Government TDs in attendance for the Roscommon-South Leitrim and Dublin South-West TDs’ budget speeches.

Mr Fitzmaurice said Minister for Finance Michael Noonan promised a tax rebate for people paying water charges. “In Roscommon or South Leitrim people cannot drink their water. Therefore it is useless to give them a rebate for water they cannot drink.”

Infrastructure had to be put in place first for people throughout Ireland and not just in his constituency, he said.

Referring to the health budget the new TD said if the Government did not open an accident and emergency unit in hospitals such as Roscommon, “I hope the Budget will allow for an air ambulance to be available in those hospitals full-time”, he said.

He also hoped the budget would also provide for children in Arigna, who had not had an eye test over the past four years.

Concentrating most of his speech on the water charges Mr Murphy said the Government was “now decisively on the back foot on this issue and can be beaten by a mass movement”.

He described the concessions in the budget as “cynical” and “panic driven” and “they will not quell the revolt on water charges”.

Following the major demonstration in Dublin at the weekend protesting against water charges, Mr Murphy said the people rose from their knees to demand that the water charges be scrapped, because they simply could not afford them.

He said “having risen, people should not kneel down again”. He said they should join the nationwide protests on November 1st and they should “build effective mass protests to prevent metering in the estates”.

The newly elected TD believed that “in fighting these charges, we can build the most powerful movement from below seen in this State in decades”.

Such a movement could not only challenge water charges “but can demand massive investment in the building of homes for those who need it and in real, decent job creation”.