Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I will obey the rules and I will look at the Acting Chairman.

To run a safe water supply we need to raise the money and we need to do it fairly, which is what we are doing. I wish to make one further point - I will be responding to parliamentary questions later. The Irish water company to be set up will be State owned. Its establishment does not represent the start of privatisation of water services. The creation of that company and the introduction of a fair system of water charges based on usage will transform the provision of water services. In these difficult times we need to deliver our services and use our resources more efficiently. By delivering on commitments in the programme for Government we can ensure this will happen.

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