Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputies Margaret Conlon, Michael P. Kitt, Paul Gogarty, Mary White, Timmy Dooley and Charlie O'Connor.

The latest cold spell, which was unprecedented in recent times, caused disruption in water supplies in many households, at any rate to some degree. South of the Border the problem was handled by local authorities whereas north of the Border it was handled by the Northern Ireland Water Authority, NIWA, a similar type of structure to that the Fine Gael Party wants to establish. North of the Border there was a major crisis in confidence in the handling of the matter and the chief executive of the NIWA resigned. South of the Border the local authorities worked flat out, as they always do in such emergencies. In this regard, I compliment the officials of South Tipperary County Council for the manner in which they dealt with the crisis, as they dealt with the flooding crisis. As the Minister pointed out, local authority staff worked flexibly, as they have done during flood emergencies, to repair leaks and restore supplies. This is the type of flexible working that is the objective of the Croke Park agreement.

I would be very slow, without due consideration, to remove responsibility from local authorities for water management and supply. They are accessible, accountable and publicly trusted. We have seen many instances of centralised authorities which are not perceived as accessible and accountable and have caused considerable controversy. The Health Service Executive is one such example.

It is interesting that while the Fine Gael Party boasts in its policy document about how many quangos it will abolish, the first thing it does in what is, I presume, the final session of the Dáil is to propose the establishment of a new quango at arm's length from the public, Ministers and public representatives.

The analogy of the National Roads Authority was put forward, which was established primarily to deal with national roads crossing several county boundaries. The authority came into its own slowly at first but more rapidly when large projects were engaged in from the late 1990s on. Water supply is mainly locally based. That is not always entirely satisfactory. Parts of the rural district around Emly, County Tipperary, are an enclave in County Limerick. Nonetheless, they are supplied from County Tipperary and there is no cross-border connection with the surrounding areas on three sides in County Limerick.

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