Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I do not know. It has perplexed us all that the European Union does not seem to make people aware that the money is there, or have it drawn down and disbursed. We have a good reputation in this regard but not all donors do. The European Union has been slow and we have put as much pressure as we can on the Commissioner, Mr. Michel, to disburse that money in a timely and efficient fashion.

Neither we nor the European Union support water privatisation. That is not part of the EU's development assistance efforts or policies. We would not support that directly in any way.

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