Sinn Féin is urging union SIPTU to join the water charge demonstration outside the Dáil on Wednesday.

Spokesperson for Social Protection, Aengus Ó Snodaigh, said the campaign is a coalition of forces made up of trade unions along with political parties including Sinn Féin and community groups and campaigns.

He said: "I welcome the recent statement issued by SIPTU that they will work with groups in the Right 2 Water campaign and I genuinely hope that SIPTU will join with us next Wednesday December 10th at the rally just outside this House on Merrion Square.

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"People are already charged for water. People already pay for their water through their taxes. The taxes collected by the Revenue pay for essential services including water. Inexcusably, this revenue has been mismanaged by successive governments with the result that 46% of treated water is leaking out before it ever reaches our taps.

"The water charges have nothing to do with conservation. Under the charges structure that this government intend to introduce if I went home this evening and turned on every tap in the house and left them running I'd still have to pay the same Bill regardless. The charges are simply about turning water into a commodity so that one day it can be privatised."

(CD/JP)