NOW WATER CHARGE ACTIVISTS SUGGEST IRELAND LEAVES EU
As Brexit hammers Irish shares, union chief Brendan Ogle – whose Unite union represents 100,000 workers – raises threat of ‘Éirexit’
FIREBRAND union boss Brendan Ogle has called for a discussion on Ireland leaving the EU... over water charges.
Even as Britain’s exit was hammering share prices and the value of sterling – threatening a UK recession which could cost jobs here – Mr Ogle was raising the prospect of Ireland following suit.
Mr Ogle’s comments came after the European Commission confirmed that Ireland is not exempt from charging for water and must abide by the EU Water Framework Directive which requires the polluter to pay.
Mr Ogle, of the Right2Water campaign, insisted last night that the Commission’s
statement would now ensure that discussion of ‘the undemocratic nature of the EU Commission’ became centre-stage in Ireland.
‘The EU Commission is pushing us into a debate about Irexit,’ he said.
He added: ‘You certainly have to question the intelligence of [the European Commission].
‘How unintended can it be that four days after the single-most challenging decision in the European Union, the Commission comes out and makes a statement which cuts completely against the electoral will of the Irish people in the state closest to Great Britain, which happens to be our largest trading partner?’
He said the Commission’s statement amounted to ‘two fingers to the Irish water protesters, two fingers to the Irish electorate and two fingers to democracy’.
Mr Ogle is currently education officer with the trade union Unite, which represents 100,000 Irish workers.
He is better known as the firebrand former head of the ESB group of unions. Prior to that role, Mr Ogle led the Irish Locomotive Drivers Association, which was involved in a threemonth dispute in the summer of 2000 which crippled some of the country’s main rail routes.
At the ESB, he courted controversy after being filmed at a meeting describing ESB workers as ‘spoilt’ and saying they had benefited from plenty of ‘gravy’ during the boom.
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett yesterday echoed his comments on a possible Éirexit, saying the Commission’s statement was ‘another outrageous example of the utter contempt that the European Union has for democracy.’
When asked if it draws into question our own role in Europe, he replied: ‘Yes, it does.’
He added: ‘I think Europe’s treatment of Greece, of Portugal, of Spain and of Ireland really begs the question: is there really anything progressive left in Europe at all, is there any progressive project left in Europe?
‘One would have to say that there isn’t. They have contempt for democracy, they are no friend of desperate refugees, they seem to be only interested in promoting the interests of multinationals and banks.’
Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy said: ‘It certainly assists, and the act of Brexit itself assists, in placing on the agenda the question of what type of Europe do we want to have. It’s a central question and that should be the debate that opens up now.’
He added the Commission’s statement is ‘a perfect example of the kind of Europe that we currently do have,
‘A question that should be debated’
which is very undemocratic and driving austerity and neoliberal policies.’
The demands by water protesters for a debate on Ireland’s future in the EU came despite the havoc being wreaked on global stock markets by Britain’s exit from the EU.
One of the chief criticisms of the British decision to quit the EU has been that the working-class British voters who opted to leave the EU will be the ones hardest hit in any post-Brexit recession.
Similarly, those anti-water charge activists calling for an ‘Éirexit’ debate here are likely to face claims that they are threatening Irish workers with the same fate – despite the fact that those workers are the people they claim to be representing. Their questioning of the role of Ireland in the EU followed publication of a statement from the European Commission that made clear water charges will have to stay.
Confusion about Ireland being exempt had centred around whether or not the implementation of water charges by Irish Water qualifies as ‘established practice’ under the directive that covers water services and pollution.
The Commission wrote to Irish MEP Marian Harkin and said Ireland is unable to ‘revert to any previous practice’ before Irish Water came into operation as the country’s national water services authority on January 1, 2014.
‘Ireland made a clear commitment to set up water charges,’ the Commission stated. ‘Ireland subsequently applied water charges and the Commission considers that the directive does not provide for a situation whereby it can revert to any previous practice.’
Water bills are due to be officially suspended from July 1 for nine months, once the Water Services (Amendment) Bill is introduced in the Dáil. The Government is due this week to announce the members of a commission it is setting up to look at a ‘sustainable funding model’ for the future funding of Irish water services.
Water charges were central to the drubbing of Fine Gael and Labour in February’s general election.
Fianna Fáil spokesman on housing, planning and local government Barry Cowen said: ‘The recent statement directly conflicts with previous answers given by the Commission.
‘Clearly there are strong legal grounds to contest, if necessary, (the) European Commission.’
A Department of the Environment spokesman said: ‘The Government is committed to the full implementation of the Water Framework Directive and recognises the principle of cost-recovery as an important environmental management measure across a range of sectors.
‘The Government is fully committed to securing a sustainable longterm funding model for domestic water services that is consistent with its international environmental obligations.
European Affairs Minister Dara Murphy told Newstalk yesterday: ‘It’s up to us in politics to convince people that there is merit in having a fair and balanced and limited scheme for charging for water that achieves the ambition that reduces waste of water and guarantees we have a stable water supply.’
‘Strong legal grounds to contest’