Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)

This week saw the announcement by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, of the establishment of Irish Water. This comes at a time when the working group of the Oireachtas committee on the environment and local government was in the process of concluding a report. The fact that it was made before that committee concluded its report is most undemocratic and shows a total lack of respect for the institutions of the Dáil.

The establishment of Irish Water will destroy local government and local democracy. We are told it will be a subsidiary of Bord Gáis, a semi-State company. It will not have any democratic accountability. Perhaps the Minister will explain how we could achieve democratic accountability for this body either to this House or to local councillors. The public will not have access to it; all people will have is an 1890 telephone number for it.

I am flabbergasted at the cost of the metering. A figure of €780 has been mentioned, or €39 per year over a period of 20 years. That is very expensive metering. Over 100 million holes will be dug in footpaths outside houses to fit meters that will not stop one drop of water from being leaked or conserved. Usage in England, where there are meters, and usage in this country are the same; in fact, it is slightly higher in many parts of England. It is far more effective to have district metering, which is already being used by county councils. Is the Minister aware of that? It is being used by councils such as those in Laois and Offaly to identify leaks in neighbourhoods and to manage the network. It is a far more effective way of doing it.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach said water services would be cut off to households who are unable to pay or will not pay the charges. This morning, the Tánaiste twice refused to distance himself from that comment when he was asked if he agreed with it. He refused to clarify that he opposed it. The conclusion one must draw is that people will have their water service cut off. This is really serious. Does the Minister not agree that the control and operation of these services would be better left with the local authorities? If we are going to create jobs, let them be jobs that have the positive legacy of fixing leaks and saving the taxpayers money. We must move to district metering, which is almost 100% complete in some local authority areas. We should also put in place proper building regulations to harvest and conserve water through methods such as dual flushes.

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