Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. As with other speakers, I acknowledge that water is without doubt a precious and vital resource, the demand for which will continue to increase in line with population growth and industrial activity. The supply of clean drinking water should not be taken for granted and we all, individually and collectively, must work to conserve it, at home, at work and elsewhere.

The need for an uninterrupted quality water supply is essential to the functioning of any First World society. The inverse relationship between its availability and the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera is a major factor in world health. Worldwide, over 4 billion cases of bacterial infections transmitted through contaminated drinking water occur each year resulting in over 2 million deaths, particularly in young children.

Access to clean drinking and bathing water for us must remain a basic fundamental right, not a commodity to be influenced by external influences such as budgetary or market pressures. It should not be seen as a revenue raising opportunity. We only have to think of the Cryptosporidium outbreak in Galway or the devastating floods which affected many parts of the country, including my home county of Cork, in the past 18 months to witness the effect of an interrupted supply. Thousands of people were left without drinking and bathing water, queuing up to receive rations to ensure that they could continue with normal daily life. It must be remembered also that hundreds of people were left stranded without water, and forced to buy bottled water.

What was notable in a number of incidences was the way the market responded. In some areas the price of bottled water rose overnight. The supply and demand forces of the market meant that would happen. I have no doubt the Government's plan to attempt to bring in water metering and charges will undoubtedly lead to the privatisation of water services. As sure as night follows day, this will lead to increased water prices and the further misery for ordinary families.

It is impossible to deal with the issue before the House today in isolation. The suggestion that individuals and families might at some stage be forced to pay a tax on water must be analysed in the context of the current economic climate and the financial plight that so many people face on a day to day basis. It must also be assessed in terms of the absolute squander of the so-called boom years.

We cannot detach the threat of taxes from the fact that previous Governments, particularly in the past 15 years, had unprecedented resources to address the deficiencies and inefficiencies in our water infrastructure. They chose not to, just as they chose not to invest sufficiently in our energy and telecommunications network. Instead, we are left with a wholly inefficient water system which leaks millions of gallons a day from leaks that we usually cannot identify. When we can identify them we more commonly repair rather than replace, which only adds to the final bill to the taxpayer. This tax has nothing to do with conservation. It has everything to do with a devastating economic policy.

Likewise, this debate cannot be detached from the fact that the current Fine Gael-Labour Government is absolutely compliant with the Fianna Fáil-EU-IMF economic blueprint. The plans have been agreed. This Government seems intent on implementation. It is a natural extension of the EU-IMF agreement, given that so much of our money is going into a black hole, that regressive measures have to be considered.

The measures outlined by Fine Gael and Labour in the programme for Government and reiterated in the amendment to the Sinn Féin motion will have a devastating effect on ordinary people who are already struggling to meet their household bills. As usual, they will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in our society who are those least able to pay. With energy and fuel prices increasing, exorbitant professional fees and interest rate increases looming, the relative cost of living in this State is driving more and more families into the red and now this Government, supported by the architects of the current economic crisis, is looking to heap more misery on ordinary families. I commend the Sinn Féin motion and urge others to support it.

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