Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is hard to know where to start, as the handling of this issue has been an unmitigated disaster from a Government perspective from the start. If the Government had listened to its backbenchers and other Deputies representing the people, much uncertainty, fear and anger could have been avoided. I am grateful that at least some changes have been made, with the lack of certainty on pricing finally being put to bed. I spoke about that issue in January, but, unfortunately, at the time we had a Minister who would really only give a smart-arse answer on anything that was raised. I am thankful that issue has been sorted out also, but it is not a good way to run a country.

The people have taken to the streets in their thousands, rightly so. Perhaps it is a pity that in recent decades in the country we have not seen that level of activity, as some of the terrible decisions made by successive Governments and the terrible occurrences on the island could have been prevented if that had not been the case. Many people to whom I have spoken do not have an issue with the principle of paying for water or Irish Water, but they have had trouble with the handling of the process, the lack of certainty and the absence of clarity on the affordability of water charges, among many other issues. I hope the people who had these concerns will see that the measures announced yesterday will help in some way to allay concerns.

I do not expect people to be happy in any way about any of this and they are correct in feeling that way because the process has been an absolute disaster and i started in this Chamber. There was a lack of respect for Members of Dáil Éireann, the representatives of the people on all sides, because of the lack of debate. This goes back to the fundamental need for reform in how we do business in the House. It is glaringly obvious - it has been for some time - that this Parliament is not fit for purpose in the way it is structured. This is leading to failure after failure and setting up the country to fail time and again. God knows, we have failed too many times already and cannot allow these failures to continue as part of the Irish political cycle. There should be a fundamental shift in how we do business.

On how we deal with water provision and treatment, I come from a county with numerous problems, which are particularly evident in mid-Kerry. From one day to another people cannot depend on the water coming from their taps; therefore, there must be major infrastructural investment, which has not happened. Although he is not present, there is a Deputy across the way who got to make a wish list when he was a councillor in the mid-Kerry area for 12 years. This was in the mid-2000s, when the country was full of money, but he never mentioned water infrastructure in mid-Kerry. We now have a major problem and something must be done to fix it. I am hopeful, at least, that we might now have a better chance of having it fixed. St. Brendan's Park in Tralee is just one of many examples in County Kerry and around the country of an area with problems. The focus must be on sorting out water infrastructural problems once and for all, rather than depending on a Victorian system from 100 years ago.

Having five minutes in which to speak is not enough; I could speak for one hour to say everything I need to say. I will dedicate the remaining seconds to what we have seen recently.

We are all elected by the people to represent them and, as I mentioned, thousands have taken to the streets. I commend them for doing so. Nevertheless, there is a very small fraction using violence and intimidation against politicians and members of the Garda and I condemn them outright. A recently elected Member has been involved. I am not here too long - it is only a few years since my election - but Deputy Paul Murphy was inciting violence against the Tánaiste last Saturday. Not only did he let himself down as a Member of Dáil Éireann, but he also let himself down as a man. For that activity to occur and not be condemned is disgusting. I condemn these actions and the violence against members of the Garda who were doing their duty and protecting people. There have been death threats levelled against members of the Government and others in the House. That is unacceptable. Unfortunately, it is worrying that this has not been discussed enough in the Chamber, although a handful of Members referred to it. These death threats are against Members of Dáil Éireann, the elected representatives of the people. This should not be tolerated and there should be more voices calling for an end to it.

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