The timetable for legislation on the contentious water rates which are due to be introduced in Northern Ireland next April have been dictated by "political imperatives", Belfast's High Court was told yesterday.
As a judicial review taken by the General Consumer Council resumed, a barrister acting on behalf of the organisation said that the government wanted to rush the legislation on water rates through "to avoid the devolved Assembly putting a spanner in the works".
The judicial review has been taken against the Department of Regional Development on the grounds its consultation process was flawed.
The consumer council has made the case that the consultation period was too short and - having taken place over a 12-week period from the start of June to the end of August - was held over the holiday period.
Barrister Tony McGleenan, who is representing the consumer council, accused the government of wanting the legislation set down before the Assembly at Stormont was restored.