Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

The debate forces those of us elected to this House to make a decision between being practical and prudent or taking a populist approach that would, ultimately, be of no benefit to the people whom we are supposed to represent. It is important to put on record that what we have, as in Northern Ireland, is a fragmented, inefficient and outdated water supply system which costs €1 billion of taxpayers' money. Yet Deputies want to tax ordinary people. Shame on them.

It is important we acknowledge that the Minister is being responsible and has laid out the Government's position quite clearly and with no ambiguity. We will have a water meter company that is State-owned. The Government plans to reform, manage and deliver water services; this will be done over its lifetime. No flat water charge will be imposed. We will be tackling leaks. Deputies O'Brien and McLellan will know that leaks are a major issue in Cork; this will be addressed by the Government. It is a challenging issue. We must look after the people who need to be protected but, equally, we must recognise that water is a precious commodity that must be preserved. We must all challenge attitudes towards the use and conservation of water. I welcome the Minister's commitment to ensuring a fair charging model, which is important and necessary.

Deputy Tóibín of Sinn Féin likened the water charges to Mrs. Thatcher's poll tax in the UK when he said the people of Ireland would treat this Government as those of the UK treated Mrs. Thatcher's. They put Mrs. Thatcher back in Government for three terms, and I hope they do the same with us, because we will be fair and honest. We have been up-front with the people, as the Sinn Féin Deputies should have been, but they have not.

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