Ms Maria Graham:

The Minister was being helpful and recognised the sincerity of the intention behind the amendment when he spoke in the Dáil about the need for legislative scrutiny to test the wording against unintended consequences. It would be appropriate to do this on Committee Stage of any legislation. We have had experience in the transfer of assets and sometimes it is not as clear as it might seem on the face of it in terms of what is the public water system and what is not. This is a matter for debate. Obviously, there are other groups such as the National Federation of Group Water Schemes that would also have a view on that aspect.

I draw members' attention to section 31(12)(a) of the 2007 Act which basically states that a water services authority shall not enter into any agreement or arrangement with another person for the provision of water services which involves the transfer of the assets or infrastructure. That was the protection I spoke about. I know the later ones tend to refer to shares but this is the one that concerns the protection of the assets. I just wanted to clarify that point.