Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

We should acknowledge that the provision of clean and healthy drinking water is a core public function of local authorities. I would go further by stating that access to such a service is a basic human right. Whether one is a pauper or a millionaire, it is a critically important issue.

The Minister knows he made an incorrect statement in his opening comments when he said that one of the purposes of this Bill is to ensure water services cannot be privatised. I accept that one of the core functions of the Bill is drawing together legislation but its overriding intent is facilitating the privatisation of water services, or at least those parts from which the vultures can make substantial profits. That is the agenda of certain sections of the Bill and the Minister could accept the amendments, including one of mine, which will put paid to privatisation if he thinks otherwise.

What are the consequences of privatisation? First, people will not have access to what is a core function of local authorities and a basic human right, an assertion regarding which the Minister nodded in agreement. Instead, they will have to pay for it under the terms of the Bill, once enacted. The function of providing clean water will be removed from local authorities and given to private developers. That in turn will lead to redeployment or redundancy for a substantial number of local authority staff, meaning a significant loss of historic or corporate knowledge and individual expertise in the field.

The developers will do what they have always done — operate on the cheap. They will not worry if 50% of the water continues to leak from pipes before reaching the householder. They will be concerned, like many local authorities hitherto, only that water comes out on the other side and that they collect their money for it. That is extremely bad for the population of this entire island. Currently, there are many treatment plants all around the State, some of whose locations have been cited, in urgent need of upgrading and repair.

As Deputy Gilmore said, the Department does not want to hear from local authorities about upgrading those plants unless it is on "design, build and operate" lines — a public private partnership, in other words. That is not the most efficient way of dealing with the matter. I am sure that the Minister has seen the report by Professor Eoin Reeves of the University of Limerick clearly indicating that it is the most inefficient way of dealing with the issue. I heard that no report has ever been written in this State on the efficiency or otherwise of PPPs, yet one in existence clearly indicates that, regarding water treatment, they are definitely not the way to proceed and that is most unfortunate.

What we have seen in the case of the M50, whereby a great public asset was handed over for a pittance to private developers and is now to be purchased back at astronomical cost to taxpayers in this State, will be repeated under the terms of this Bill when enacted. A Minister in a future Government will have to negotiate with those developers in an attempt to purchase back the infrastructure to be handed over to them under the terms of this Bill and that is extremely worrying, since it will come at great cost to the taxpayers of this State. We have the example of the M50 toll bridges, in which regard taxpayers will be needlessly fleeced by developers owing to bad Government policies. Whatever the political hue of the incoming Government that we will have in a few weeks, I hope that it will address this matter and amend the Bill. I do not disagree with its entirety, but I am extremely concerned at this element, which could bring catastrophic consequences for many people in the State on low incomes.

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