Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The EPA has made a critical intervention. Much of the debate that we have had today is around compliance, and there is no doubt that the EPA is working in the interests of protecting human health and environment, especially with regard to water provision and water services. It is a message for our committee, and I do not mind putting it on the record, that irrespective of where we stand on the derogation debate we have a much larger obligation to human health. Leaving aside member state obligations aside, we have obligations to our citizens. Much of the debate today, if we are honest about it, has been about getting off the hook in terms of charges and in terms of derogation. What the EPA have outlined today is what the committee members should be focused on, and that is how we improve our environment, our water provision, and how they are sustained into the future with regards capital investment.