He added, “In essence, every new property/ connection is now being metered. Why is this action being taken when no decision has been made by the NI Executive in respect of water charges? [caption id="attachment_1979" align="alignleft" width="107" caption="Down District Councillor Eamonn O'Neill questions DRD actions on installing water metering equipment in Newcastle. "][/caption] “Who gave the authority for the reported £1million to be spent on such a project without cross party Executive approval? This is a clearly a case of the cart way before the horse. “It is evident that the Minister is paving the way for water charges but wants to wait until after the election for a different minister from a different party to pick up the mantle of this poisoned chalice. “Our water and roads infrastructure is in a shocking state so why then did the Sinn Fein Minister for Regional Development return £19 million to the Executive table as unspent? Is he incapable of directing money to much needed causes? “We are in a serious economic crisis and I am inundated with complaints regarding both the water and the roads infrastructure and here is a local Minister returning money to the coffers of the public purse.” ]]>