Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I understand that this is an interim Bill. The Minister of State and I will be obliged to ring 1890 numbers to talk to somebody in a call centre about major problems. We must go beyond this to the reality of what we are doing here. The Department is losing control of this situation and in a year's time the game will have changed because responsibility for water supplies will have been outsourced. The best we can hope for is that somebody from Irish Water-Uisce Éireann will be invited once every year or two to talk to the Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht where we will get a few minutes each to ask questions.

I am asking the Minister of State to reconsider this proposal, which should be rejected. It should be replaced by a proper plan to work in a co-ordinated way under a national framework team in conjunction with local authorities.

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