TÁNAISTE EAMON GILMORE has revealed he’s been hearing anger about water charges on the doorsteps in recent weeks but has defended the above leaflet from the 90s, which has resurfaced recently, where he described water charges as “just another tax on workers”.
“What I was against then is what I’m against now,” he insisted in an interview with TheJournal.ie yesterday.
“That was a flat charge that took no account of the circumstances of a family, the amount of water you used, whether you had an illness, or your ability to pay.”
The Labour leader claimed that what is being introduced by this government is “very different” where there will be “no flat charge, payment for water is purely on the basis of what has been used”.
Here’s what happened when we placed the above leaflet in front of Gilmore:
Camera: Michelle Hennessy/TheJournal.ie
He said that while people are “put to the pin of their collar” the focus has to be on creating more jobs for those people “at a faster pace” and deal with living standards.
He said: “I am in no doubt about the fact that people are put to the pin… people are put to the pin of their collar.
“That is why we have to move on with the creation of additional jobs, that’s why we also have to ensure that we address the issue of incomes, that we address the issue of living standards.”
He described the last few years as “the worst recession we’ve had since Ireland won her independence” but said the consequences of government not doing what it has done would have been a the State entering a second bailout.
Gilmore added: “If we hadn’t done what we did in the last three years we would probably, as many people predicted, be into a second bailout with the prospect of 30 per cent reduction in public expenditure and payments and so on.”
Later on TheJournal.ie: The full interview with Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore
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