No Cabinet Agreement On Water Charges

No cabinet agreement on water charges

Today's cabinet meeting has ended without a deal on water charges. However sources on both sides of the government say progress has been made on some of the outstanding issues. A special cabinet meeting could be convened in the coming days if advisors from Fine Gael and Labour are able to reach a final deal. Earlier Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin was critical of the government's rush to make the final decisions before the local elections. "It's at the 11th hour that we now see that the ability to pay mechanism is now coming into play, that the issue of the standing charge - we don't know whether it's going to be abolished, reduced or what" he said. "And we still have no clear idea, despite the Taoiseach's commitment that he would let the people know what their bills would be in advance of the election, we still have no clarity" he added.