McGrath calls for referendum on public ownership of water

A referendum is required on the public ownership of the State’s water infrastructure to ensure there are no “fat cats” waiting to “make a killing” out of its privatisation, Independent Minister Finian McGrath has said.

Mr McGrath, the super junior Minister with Responsibility for Disability Issues, made a U-turn on Friday on his refusal to date to pay water charges, just a week after entering government with Fine Gael.

Speaking in Dublin, Mr McGrath reiterated his comments on Friday that the water charges issue was a “distraction” from his role in Government and said he now wanted to “move on”.

"I am still opposed to them but I paid the charges not to distract from my real job, which is here today," he said following his address to the Irish Wheelchair Association annual conference.

“I was in a very uncomfortable position but it’s not a huge issue for me. I want to keep the cohesion of the Government there,” he said.

“We are only after getting up and running and I don’t want any distractions. I want to look after people with cystic fibrosis and people with disabilities. I want to do something about health and for small businesses. They are my issues.”

Mr McGrath said he did not like that he had been “misrepresented by a lot of people” in relation to his approach to the Attorney General over his stance on water charges.

“I never said I was going to go looking for legal advice. I was only looking for constitutional advice to see what was her position. She told me exactly what the position was, I listened to her advice and I listened to the advice of my election workers and we made a decision. So it’s all over now; move on.”

Asked what was his view of how others who had not paid water charges should now be treated, he said he was “was not all of a sudden going to start lecturing people”.

“I was always an outsider. I agree that if people paid and if water charges are going to be abolished they should get their money back. I accept that argument.”

Mr McGrath said he believed we should await a decision from the commission that is being set up to examine the future of charging and then have a vote in the Dáil and “get it over for good”.

But he added that public ownership of water infrastructure was a “big thing” for him.

“We do need a referendum to ensure that there’s no fat cats out there that just want to move in and make a killing.”

Mr McGrath told the event it was a priority for him to ensure the ratification by the State of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

He also wanted to ensure that organisations such as the Irish Wheelchair Association and other disability services were given not only “adequate” resources, but “dramatically increased” resources in this year’s budget in line with the Programme for Government.

Change of mindset

A change in mindset was required on disability issues, he told The Irish Times.

“We want to get away from the charity model, from this sort of sympathetic stuff that is widespread in Irish society.”

Delegates at the conference, which this year focused on housing issues, discussed the impact and long-term implications of the housing crisis, including infrastructure costs and planning regulations.

Constraints on housing supply had placed further restrictions on people with disabilities who wish to live independently in a home of their own, the event heard.

Homelessness campaigner Fr Peter McVerry told the conference the right to housing was the most fundamental of all and was a question of “dignity”.

“Because without appropriate housing, people may not eat properly, their health will deteriorate, they will not be able to access education and they will not be able to access employment or training.”