Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

The main progress which has been made with drinking water is that it is now being monitored very substantially by the EPA and we have had reports for the past couple of years. The progress made on the issue has been very slow. There were 339 supplies on the risk list last year with 83 being removed and 62 added. Almost a third of our water supplies are still considered risky by the EPA, meaning there is a problem with the water and something needs to be done by the local authority to take it off the list. It is important to make that point.

With regard to the money that the Minister spoke of investing, is €500 million enough and does he expect that sum to be spent? Will he guarantee that all the money will be spent? In view of the embargo on council staff recruitment, will councils have enough staff to spend the money and will they have the capacity to carry out necessary works?

When the EPA launched the report, it stated there will need to be a corresponding upskilling of those charged with the operation and management of drinking water treatment plants. I presume this referred to both public and private facilities. Do the councils have enough staff with the necessary skills and will the Minister guarantee that by the end of this year, the €500 million will not be left languishing in local authority accounts or not drawn down by local authorities at all?

At a recent conference of architects the Minister stated that domestic water charges were inevitable. I put a question to the Minister last month on whether Ireland had opted out of implementing domestic water charges under European Union law and his reply was that we had. The Minister did not indicate in the reply that he intended to change that and he pointed out how the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1997 removed the authority of water authorities to implement water charges for domestic users. He also indicated there was no requirement for the Government to take steps to opt out of article 9(1) of the water framework directive with regard to the requirement to charge domestic users for water.

Where does the Minister stand on the issue? There is no point in indicating this is the responsibility of the Commission on Taxation and at the same time linking the matter with the quality of water. Water charges are a revenue-raising measure and it is not the way to get funds for water infrastructure. We have an income taxation system which should be operated fairly.

Water is equivalent to a food product in that a third of food products would not be on shelves if they were risky. Unfortunately, this is the case with water. Water is not dispensable; a person can stop eating food for a certain time - people have gone on hunger strike - but we cannot stop drinking water as it is next to the air we breathe in terms of its vital importance to our health and well-being. This is even more relevant for children and elderly people.

If there is a threat of charging for water, there is the possibility that some people who should drink water would restrict their usage. What is the Minister's position on water charges and what does he believe is the right way to proceed?

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