Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

I welcome this opportunity to talk about the Water Services Bill 2003, but first I congratulate Deputy Roche on his appointment as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I have known him for approximately 20 years and know that he has a substantial commitment to and knowledge of local government. I have a feeling he will distinguish himself in this role, as he did recently in the field of European affairs.

This Bill places Victorian legislation within a new and modern legal framework. Up until now, 19th century legislation governed 21st century infrastructure. Clearly, the Bill's purpose is to consolidate and update the existing diverse body of water services legislation in a single modern enactment. I am confident that it will achieve its principle aim, namely, to modernise and manage water supply and distribution systems. This legislation complements reform of the planning code and the local government administrative code which has been ongoing. I congratulate the Minister and his predecessor on their endeavours in this regard.

As I see it, the Bill has three main aims, the first being to consolidate water services law into a single code, giving the Minister direct supervisory powers regarding the delivery of water services. The Bill also introduces a licensing system to regulate the operation of larger group water schemes. Lastly, it places duties of care on users of water services regarding conservation.

The Bill gives the Minister increased powers of inspection and monitoring, something that will foster a more strategic and targeted approach to water services management. The new licensing system will, in due course, apply to the larger group water schemes, estimated at approximately 1,500, catering for 50 persons or more. I share the Minister's hopes that this will bring a new level of professionalism to the sector, in addition to adhering to drinking quality standards as set by the European Union and referred to by Deputy Sargent. Licensing will also lead to an improvement in water quality for rural dwellers and foster the continuing partnership that has been the foundation of recent improvements to water services provision in rural areas.

To that end, I applaud the recent allocation of €1.5 million under the water services investment programme to Castledermot in my constituency of Kildare South. Those funds are but part of a larger €7.4 million investment in the Castledermot sewerage scheme which includes the construction of a secondary treatment plant. The scheme is just one of over 21 water and sewerage schemes in County Kildare with a combined value of over €216 million to be included by the Minister in his Department's recently launched water services investment programme for the period 2004 to 2006.

The Bill establishes new water services authorities which will be based on the county or city council model. They will be responsible for providing water within their own jurisdiction, in addition to supervising water supplies when not supplied directly by the water services authority. This will be done under a licensing process. I warmly welcome the authority's power to directly intervene and insist on the development or delivery of a service when that service encounters operational difficulties. This cannot happen at present. If the users of a scheme encounter problems, as sometimes happens — usually through no fault of the scheme's management — the new authority can take over the running of the scheme temporarily until the problem is rectified. The end result is that the users of the scheme, the members of the public, will be assured of ongoing quality drinking water availability.

Under the Bill's provisions, the new authorities are obliged to develop a strategic six year plan which must be approved by the Minister. This should present no major difficulties for local authority officials who are accustomed to producing five yearly assessments of need for the Department, setting out their areas' water and wastewater requirements. Deputy Cooper-Flynn raised the point about elected members' input into such a plan. I agree with her on that point and suggest to the Minister that the Bill might be improved by inserting a provision that would require the elected members to have an input into the making of the six year strategic plan.

The Bill is consumer-friendly in its focus. Under the legislation, an authority can interrupt the supply of water or wastewater where there is a risk to human health or the environment. There are provisions to allow water services authorities to take over or repair service pipes connecting premises with sewers and water mains, and new obligations on service providers to make alternative supplies available where domestic drinking water supplies are interrupted for more than 24 hours. The Bill will also enable the Minister to make regulations to deal with consumer complaints in due course.

The Bill deals with the management of water from its arrival in a pipe to its eventual discharge as treated wastewater. It does not deal with the production of water — its preparation and treatment before it enters the pipes. While I recognise that it has received some adverse publicity and criticism for not dealing with such issues as water quality and water pollution management, they have been addressed by several new initiatives, including a comprehensive water quality monitoring programme which has been introduced for the 1,500 group water schemes falling within the remit of the drinking water regulations. Samples are currently being collected at consumers' taps on a quarterly basis and I understand the laboratory results will be available from the county councils.

There has been some debate and concern in the House that the Bill will herald the introduction of domestic water charges, to which this Bill will not lead. I welcomed the words of the former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, when he said the Bill was not a Trojan horse for domestic charges, that such charges were specifically prohibited under the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1997 and that, furthermore, privatisation of water services would require significant additional legislation to give the necessary powers to an independent regulator and was not on the agenda of this Bill. Neither public private partnerships nor related "design, build and operate" arrangements are precursors to the privatisation of water services. Such a partnership involves only the contracting in of private sector expertise to perform a function on behalf of a contracting authority. Assets remain fully in the ownership of the relevant authority or group services scheme as the case may be. That is the best and only way forward for the development and renewal of water services infrastructure.

The Bill will establish a six year strategic planning and review cycle regarding water services provision. Rural water plans have been drawn up for that purpose and will be incorporated in due course into the new countrywide strategic planning process. It is imperative that we gain maximum value from the €4.4 billion investment in water services infrastructural projects in the next few years under the national development plan. Expenditure must be co-ordinated with national development planning and prioritised in those areas where it is most needed. As I mentioned, the Government will have invested €4.4 billion in the period 2000 to 2006. This major investment in the provision of proper water services is a recognition on the part of the Government of the issue's importance. For that reason, the Bill is particularly timely.

The Bill establishes a modern, legislative code governing functions, standards, obligations and practice in respect of planning, management and delivery of water supplies and the collection and treatment of waste water. It is about ensuring good quality water for these schemes, a sector generally unregulated up to now, and not about sneaking water services charges through the back door, as has been suggested in some quarters. The national federation of group water schemes which represents the sector fully supports the proposals. I welcome the Bill which does not alter the present situation whereby commercial consumers pay for water supply while domestic consumers do not.

I suggested that elected members of councils should have a specific input to the strategic planning process. No less than seven new water authorities will have an interest in abstracting water from the river Liffey, for example. Does the Minister see a need for a regional approach to strategic planning under the Bill? Many speakers have referred to rural water supplies. It seems odd that while emphasising that potable water is a finite and valuable resource, we continue to allow it to be used in agriculture and other rural enterprises when it might be more appropriate to encourage the use of alternative untreated ground supplies. The Minister might comment on the possibility of extending the new well grant to those involved in that business. I commend the Bill to the House.

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