Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

I commend Fine Gael on tabling this timely and relevant motion given the events of recent months which saw the entire country come to a standstill. How can the public be guaranteed that when they turn on their taps, water will flow and be of sufficient quality to be safe enough to drink? Environmental Protection Agency reports published last September and the year before consistently highlighted serious problems with water quality and serious deficiencies in how most local authorities monitor and manage it. Water systems have been allowed to deteriorate to crisis point.

The Fine Gael motion claimed 43% of water between the reservoir and the household is lost while the Minister stated in a reply to a parliamentary question it was 45%. A review of the national development plan by Fitzpatrick Associates, instigated by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, put the figure higher at 50%. In his reply to my parliamentary question, the Minister sees this as a matter of responsibility for local authorities. He does not see it as a national problem and, conveniently, he feels he does not have to show any leadership on the matter.

However, the time has come for Ireland to have a national water programme that will guarantee national standards. Such a programme will require significant investment. Last July during Question Time with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, it emerged up to €1.2 billion was held on account by local authorities arising from development levies. Local authorities may have expected to spend these moneys eventually. However, a circular issued last year by the Minister informed them these moneys were to be ring-fenced and only spent against income in 2009.

Using the Maastricht criteria, the Government has, through a bookkeeping exercise, locked this money into an account as a means of showing the Exchequer has money to hand. Unfortunately, in excess of €1 billion is locked into an account indefinitely and cannot be spent to deal with some of the problems caused by the recent severe weather.

Yesterday in a reply to a parliamentary question the Minister also disclosed to me there is potentially €800 million outstanding in development levies yet to be collected. While it is hard to quantify how much of these funds will be raised because many construction companies have gone to the wall, there is potentially a total of €2 billion in development levies. Why has this not been invested into building a proper infrastructure, particularly when it is estimated it will cost €1 billion? It was interesting to hear the Minister criticise Fine Gael's proposal to establish a national utility company given the Fitzpatrick report suggested an agency along the lines of the NRA to implement water policy nationally. If there were ever a quango, it would have to be the NRA. Every Member knows it is entirely impossible to bring the authority to account in the House. I question the Minister's approach, given his criticisms in this regard last night.

I would share his concern, however, with any proposal that would lead to the privatisation of water supply, which must remain in public ownership. In the UK, when water supply was privatised, infrastructure and supply got worse while costs went up.

We had an emergency in recent months but no national emergency was declared. When the chairperson of the national emergency committee attended an Oireachtas committee several weeks ago, he admitted there is no mechanism by which a national emergency can be declared. This is an issue that must be addressed.

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