Workers Party reiterate position in support of non-payment of water charges

Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan has said comments he made in an interview with the Cork News in relation to the party’s position in support of the non-payment of water charges had been taken out of context.

Cllr. Tynan said the Workers’ Party was very clear in its total opposition to water charges and its call for a mass non-payment campaign. 

He said: “I was making the point that while non-payment is central to defeating the water charges and Irish Water it is only one element in the fight against these charges and the privatisation of a vital natural resource.  This battle cannot be reduced to simple sloganising.”

“In addition to non-payment , the Workers Party supports communities in their fight against the installation of water meters. We also believe there is a need for a vigorous campaign against the privatisation of this vital resource and we endorse the position of the United Nations that the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.”

“The Workers Party believes that Irish Water must be abolished along with the water charges and the responsibility for public water and sanitation should revert to the local authorities which must be properly funded from a progressive and fair taxation system”, said Cllr. Tynan.

"Hands off the State Pension" Tynan warns Ó Cuiv

Cllr. Ted Tynan has condemned comments of Social Welfare Minister Eamon Ó Cuiv in which the Minister hinted that the State Pension (formerly known as the Old Age Pension) might be cut in the next Budget.

Cllr. Tynan said that the Minister would find himself faced with the wrath of pensioners if he attempted to interfere with a right people had worked all their lives to earn and the Workers Party described claims about wealthy people on State Pensions as a "red herring".

The State Pension is a means-tested payment. People who have paid in via their PRSI or stamps during their working lives may qualify for a Contributory Pension but the Non-Contributory Pension is subjected to a rigorous means test. The whole talk about people with wealth getting the State Pension is nothing other than a diversion and is a bit rich coming from a government that claimed it was unable to cut the massive pensions paid to judges and the golden handshakes given to criminal bankers.

"The Pension is a meagre enough payment and does not even make ends meet for people, particularly during Winter when they have to spend a large part of their pension on fuel in order to keep warm. In the harsh winter just gone by many elderly people, and indeed other people on welfare or low pay, ran up large bills for heating because it was literally a matter of life or death for them. Eamon Ó Cuiv, a grandson of Éamon De Valera, should know how dangerous it is to try and cut the pension - after all his grandfather got elected Taoiseach for the first time after a predecessor, Ernest Blythe took a shilling off the Old Age Pension. Blythe later lost his seat. Mr. Ó Cuiv should worry about his if he does the same", said Cllr. Tynan.