Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for his remarks. Given that water charges are specifically prohibited in this State under the 1997 Act and will be prohibited under section 105(1) of this legislation, it seems to me that a third prohibition is probably unnecessary. Section 105(1) of the Bill before the House, which was inserted on Committee Stage, explicitly prohibits charging for domestic supplies and cannot be changed by regulations. The 1997 Act cannot be changed unless it is the will of the Oireachtas that a change be made. It is not necessary to provide for yet another prohibition in law. I ask Deputy Morgan not to press the amendments.

The Deputy quite rightly highlighted the loss of water through cracked and fractured pipes, especially old pipes. We announced some weeks ago that we intend to pursue a €240 million water conservation scheme. The Deputy might not be aware of the scheme because its announcement was overshadowed by a welter of publicity about photographs taken on that occasion. The water authorities in Dublin are introducing a forward-looking scheme that will involve the replacement of approximately 240 km of piping over a short period. Eight or nine contractors have been engaged to pursue the scheme in a progressive manner. The press conference at which I announced the water conservation scheme did not get as much publicity as the photographs, unfortunately. Dublin City Council has dealt with this big issue.

I mentioned earlier that there is an issue in other parts of the country where water service authorities are responsible for mending pipes. When it was decided recently to pump water from Tuam to Galway city, it was discovered that up to 70% of the water was being lost through old pipes. The Government has allocated €27.4 million to Galway County Council to deal with that issue. The Deputy is quite right to suggest that the issue of the loss of water from the system as a result of bad piping is a critical one. The Government devoted massive funding last year and this year to deal with the issue. Moneys will continue to be spent on it throughout the rest of the water services programme. I agree with Deputy Morgan that this is an important point, but it is being dealt with.

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