| From Unity, 19 June 2010 |
Water charges still an issueThe front page of the Irish News on 11 June carried a report that the Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson, had “signalled” that he planned to bring in water charges next April.Wilson’s comments were discussed at a meeting of the Coalition against Water Charges held on the same day, where a report was presented on a meeting held with the DRD Minister, Conor Murphy, on 3 June. The first part dealt with similar comments made by Wilson that morning, where he had claimed water charges were inevitable. Murphy’s response was that Wilson’s comments “did not reflect the view of the Executive or indeed the views of the DUP.” Murphy also commented that he, and his party, did not agree that the issue of public expenditure cuts required consideration of the introduction of water charges. He also confirmed that only interim appointments would be made to the NI Water Board, that options for the future governance of NI Water would be examined, taking in the fundamental structures as well as the role of the regulator, and that a meeting of ministers will take place in July to discuss the question of future public expenditure issues. Murphy also made it clear that he was not prepared to countenance any enforced redundancies within NI Water, as would have been required under the Regulator’s proposals. The Coalition decided it would seek a public debate with Wilson on the issue. It also decided to try to increase the awareness amongst people once again and expressed concern about “lazy” journalism on the subject that was having a negative effect. It was decided to seek the help of more sympathetic journalists for the campaign. |
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