Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have gone over a lot of old ground and there is no new wine that I can see. The Bill provides that the primary function of the Commission for Energy Regulation is to protect the best interests of the customers of Irish Water and I have no doubt that will be the case. I have referred to the document it placed in the public domain and there will be a second in which it will identify the issues it thinks will be important. Irish Water's plan must be agreed by the commission. Whatever view it might have, the commission must put Irish Water's plan out for public consultation and communicate its intentions. There will be total transparency around the charges and how they are arrived at.

For those who may not have had the benefit of reading it, we are talking about not just the operating costs of Irish Water today but also the plan for the next five years or longer. We must identify where there are deficits in the water supply. Everybody agrees that in the greater Dublin area there is a major water deficit. There are issues in Cork and with wastewater treatment plants. There are towns where water is boiled. While the number of boil notices is declining, it is a significant issue. All of these things must be included in the equation. The equation is simple in that one must examine the plans of the councils in County Waterford, County Tipperary or County Donegal for the development of their communities. It is not just a matter of the water coming from one's tap but the infrastructure behind it. There will be total transparency and the Members will be able to argue and discuss the issue in the Houses. In this Bill the Minister has the power to direct Irish Water to do whatever he directs it to do.

Regarding the questions raised, I will not be political but factual. From where did all this come? I accept the conservation arguments, as no doubt others here do. Fianna Fáil, in the programme for Government in 2009, stated it would introduce water charges. The deal it made with the troika was that it would introduce water charges in 2011, not 2014, as we are doing. The Senator's arguments are based on the fact that his party brought us into this mess in the first place and we are cleaning it up. That is a fact. All of the arguments he can make are like water off-----