Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

That is no problem at all. Deputy Eoghan Murphy commenced his speech by stating that water is not a basic human right. I am happy to correct him; it is. The right to water derives from Article 11.1 of the International Covenant on Social and Economic Rights and is recognised as such by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is the body charged with interpreting the covenant. If people are making statements in the Dáil they should at least have the basic facts correct.

The proposed charges are not about water wasters or conservation. The new Government is unashamed in this regard despite some attempts today to cloud that. The fact that water charges feature in the section of the programme for Government entitled "Fiscal Policy" says it all. The bottom line is that the Government wants to raise more money. If the Minister were to say "we propose to introduce a flat tax on every household in order to bail out private banks and foreign gamblers" that would go down like a lead balloon. The Government has done it anyway under the universal social charge, but I do not believe even it would try that trick a second time. Instead the Government tries to make it sound more palatable so it claims we need to protect the environment. The Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government was at the same trick because everybody wants to conserve the environment.

However, that begs an obvious question. Why not use the money that has been borrowed to install meters to fix the leaks and conserve the water? Currently up to 58% of treated water is being lost. More than 60% of local authorities lose more than 40% of treated water. That problem should be addressed rather than trying to raise money to pump into zombie banks or to pay back IMF loans we should not be paying back at all.

The Government is cynically using the promise of meters with a free allowance rather than being honest and acknowledging that this has nothing to do with conservation and is rather simply a revenue-raising mechanism. To this end it has promised charges will only hit those who waste water. Labour and Fine Gael spokespersons have advised people they will not suffer if they use water in a responsible manner. There are a number of problems with this contention.

First, a free allocation plus charges model is not permissible under the EU water directive, which mandates full cost recovery from the consumer. The only reason domestic users in this State are not charged the full whack upfront right now is because Ireland secured a derogation from the directive because we had an established practice of paying for water through general taxation. A meter, free allocation plus charges model would constitute new and not established practice therefore we would quickly come under the scrutiny of the European Commission and would come under pressure to charge domestic users the full rate for every drop they use. The European Commission's website clearly states under the terms of the directive: "Member States will be required to ensure that the price charged to water consumers - such as for the abstraction and distribution of fresh water and the collection and treatment of waste water - reflects the true costs."

Annex 3 of the directive makes it clear that there is very little room for manoeuvre within or around this principle once it kicks in - in other words once we depart from our current practice which is explicitly exempted from it.

Neither this Government nor the last one which came up with the plan ever sought advice from the Attorney General, based on information I have received in replies to parliamentary questions and yet it continues to promote a water-charging model that may prove legally impermissible. It is happy to commit to spend €1 billion on installing meters which will be used to charge families for every last drop.

Second, even if a free allowance were permissible, which is not the case, as the Government's austerity approach gathers momentum and the economy shrinks further it would be likely to be tempted and pressured by the EU and IMF to reduce the free allocation every year and likewise hike the flat rate volumetric charges every year. This is what has happened with other waiver schemes, including those for bin charges; they are reduced until they disappear altogether in some cases. I do not believe that the body the Minister proposes to establish is not in preparation for privatisation of our water supply.

Third, there is very little knowledge on the actual level of water use broken down by categories of households or individuals.

The Minister stated in recent days that a free allowance in the region of 40 litres will be available, but the only figures available to the Department, which come from the national water study published 11 years ago, suggest that average individual use stands at 145 litres, a much higher volume. This, again, shows that any promise that only water wasters will be targeted by charges is a blatant untruth.

There is nothing fair about the funding model proposed by the Government in its amendment. The impact of the flat-rate volumetric charges on wealthy people will be negligible whereas it will undoubtedly force those already struggling on low incomes to go without essential water. It will undoubtedly compound the already stark divide between the health outcomes of those on low incomes versus those on high incomes. When canvassing during cold and dark evenings in February, I was struck by the number of people, especially the elderly, who were living in the dark and afraid because they did not have any money to spare to allow them to switch on their lights. They will not be able to turn on their taps if the Government has its way. The energy poor will shortly be the water poor if the charges are introduced.

That Fine Gael wholeheartedly adopted the outgoing Government's approach to water and finance is no surprise. Ideologically, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are one. They like stealth taxes and privatisation. I was delighted to hear Deputy Buttimer comparing himself and the Government to the Thatcher Government. There is a lot of truth in that. The Government, with the likes of Deputy Buttimer, will show its true colours in the coming days and months. If it is making the aforementioned comparison, it saves me from doing so.

Despite the ideological stance of Fine Gael, many people expected much more from the Labour Party, especially considering the promises made and views expressed by key public representatives of that party on this issue. People will have seen the leaflet circulated by the Tánaiste, Deputy Gilmore, in his younger days on water charges as a form of taxation. After the most recent general election, Deputy Tuffy voted against the adoption of the programme for Government, citing her opposition to the introduction of water charges as her reason. It will be interesting to see whether she troops in here later to vote against the Government's amendment.

Last year, 24 Labour Party councillors from across the State, two of whom have since been elected as Deputies, namely Deputies John Lyons and Eamonn Maloney, signed a letter committing their opposition to water charges if elected. The letter refers to a motion passed unanimously at a Labour Party Conference in Galway at which the then councillors stated their opposition to the plans of the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, to introduce water charges. These are the very same plans that the Labour Party is now proposing to implement. Very much in line with today's Sinn Féin motion but completely at odds with the amendment proposed by the Government, the letter states:

We believe in the provision of water as a fundamental human right and that the cost of providing an EU standard of water to every home in the state should be funded through a reformed and progressive tax system. Labour also confirmed at our Conference that we are committed to abolishing these regressive water charges if in Government.

One should remember the last Government had promised to introduce water charges before leaving office but thankfully had to leave very quickly. The problem is that we have a new Government that just carries on in the same way in office.

The letter also stated: "In the meantime we will continue to lead the opposition to water charges and privatization". God love us, if we were waiting on the Labour Party to lead us in opposition, considering its capitulation since entering office, we would be waiting a long time.

The body being proposed by the Minister will set the ball rolling towards taxation. This is already in hand through various mechanisms mentioned in this motion. Private companies are already in charge of the treatment of water and the disposal of waste water. That is a scandal. Water services should be under the local authorities' control and there should be a body ensuring the standard is as high as possible and that there is co-ordination between local authorities.

The Labour Party has an opportunity today to live up to its pre-election, vote-securing promises. It was buying votes with those promises. Today I am putting it up to the three aforementioned Deputies and also the leader of the Labour Party. The party could be true to its word and voters by voting against the Government's amendment on water charging. I commend the motion to the House. It is fair and constitutes the only proper strategy to address the problems associated with water. If adopted, it will ensure responsibility for the provision and treatment of water and the disposal of waste water will be held by local authorities and, therefore, held in the interest of the people.

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