Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Petition No. P00027/14 on the abortion referendum is in the name of Mr. Alan Moran. He is requesting the joint committee to call for a referendum on abortion. This petition was brought before the consultative working group on 15 April for its consideration of its admissibility. It was agreed not to deem the petition inadmissible but to bring it before the full joint committee for consideration. It was also decided that calling for a referendum may not be something the committee should request, given the number of debates held on the abortion issue. We also sought legal advice on the issue. While we have agreed that the petition is admissible, there have been wide ranging debates in the Dáil and the Seanad. The issue has had a considerable hearing in the Houses without us duplicating that work. We will write to the petitioner, advising that we do not intend to take the matter further and we will close it. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The final petition is P000020/2015on the affordability of domestic Irish Water charges is in the name of Mr. Ben Dalton. He is requesting that legislation be introduced which would allow for a section to be set up within Irish Water to deal with customers not in a position to pay their water bills, that Irish Water agree to a payment plan with the customer and that in a situation where there was a default on this agreement, there should be the facility of an appeals process. He also recommends that individuals be allowed to make an appeal to the Commission for Energy Regulation, should they not be happy with the appeals process. Similar to the previous petition, this matter has received considerable attention through legislation dealt with in recent times. We agree to refer the matter to the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht to see if it believes it needs further attention. As always when we refer a petition to another committee, we will continue to monitor the position. Is that agreed? Agreed. The petition will remain open and has been sent to another committee for its deliberation.