Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on Second Stage of this important Bill.

The establishment of Irish Water as a subsidiary company of Bord Gáis will allow it to take over responsibility for the delivery of water services from local authorities and will facilitate the installation and maintenance of water meters in dwellings across this country. It is one of a number of major structural changes to the water sector in Ireland that are proposed in this legislation.

Many rural deputies will be well aware that paying for water is nothing new in rural areas, where people not connected to town or city supply lines are obliged to pay through a meter for their domestic water through a local group or private scheme. I acknowledge the community spirit of the many group water scheme secretaries and other office holders in these group schemes for their work in keeping together these schemes and for working with their respective local authorities to ensure their neighbours have a supply and that the necessary paperwork and infrastructural renewals are updated.

There is some local concern among private and group water schemes regarding the full roll out of Irish Water. These concerns centre on the taking in charge of the schemes by Irish Water and the implications for the users. The IFA recently welcomed the announcement that rural dwellers on these schemes will not be hit by any additional water charges. Mr. Harold Kingston, chairman of the IFA environment and rural affairs committee, stated that the IFA recognises the importance of a good quality water supply for the future competitiveness and growth of the agrifood sector and welcomed the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government's recognition of the substantial investment by people living in the countryside and the decision not to impose additional charges.

There is another view that some of these same group schemes will become customers of Irish Water rather than the local authority and there are concerns that charges for water and connection will increase. Up to 10% of domestic water users are either on a private or group water scheme and I would welcome from the Minister in his contribution to this debate as much clarification as possible around the future of group water schemes to clear up any misunderstandings.

As a member of Sligo County Council for many years, I know the cost of producing clean water for onward supply to the consumer. In Ireland, it costs over €715 million a year to provide water in our taps. The only return comes from commercial users such as farmers, industrial businesses and small commercial users. A hotel in my constituency faces annual charges for water in and water out of over €30,000, a massive figure for a relatively small business that only opens on a seasonal basis. This has to change and I fundamentally challenge the view that water should be free to domestic users. I see no lobby group calling for commercial consumers not to pay for water, yet those same people argue against domestic water charges. What if there was a call to charge electricity to commercial users and not to domestic consumers? It would be laughed at, and rightly so, but I argue that at a cost to the Exchequer of over €700 million for water, the user must pay.

We are the only country in the OECD where households do not pay directly for the water they use. Our current model of water provision, where unlimited quantities of an expensive product are provided at no charge, is not sustainable. The decision to give every household a domestic allowance based on the size of the household is only fair and this will encourage consumers to treat water as a commodity like electricity to ensure any usage is not excessive.

Many of my former colleagues at local authority level are concerned about councils losing their role in the provision of water to the consumer. Many will remember the winter of 2010-11 when we were hit by temperatures as low as -15C and consumers turned directly to local councillors for assistance when they found no water in their taps. I would like to see some provision for local authority representatives to be accommodated on the basis of their representational mandate to ensure that they can have direct access to local and regional personnel from Irish Water. I would suggest something similar to the current HSE regional forums which give some members the opportunity to represent their local authority on a regional basis to ensure they can make a case for the provision for water infrastructure in their area.

I am also concerned about staff who are currently working with local authorities. Some of them are concerned about their jobs after 2014. Those staff, as I have seen at local level in Sligo County Council and Sligo Borough Council over the years, know every area in the town. It is vital that Irish Water maintains the work force, and not only for a short period.

The introduction of leakage incentive targets to link future water infrastructure investment by Government to a reduction in water leakage is something I warmly advocate. I further hope to see in the future the introduction of water conservation incentives to encourage home owners, business people and farmers to reduce water bills and consumption by harvesting water for use at a later stage. No doubt the Minister will encourage this.

I note that the Government's plan, Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2012-16, shows a decline in Exchequer capital investment in water and wastewater services from €435 million in 2011 to €371 million in 2012 and a further decline to €296 million by 2014. One of the main purposes of this Bill is to ring fence funding for capital spending on water infrastructure and I believe this can be achieved in the long term. The United Kingdom, where there is a similar structure as proposed in this Bill, has 25% less staffing costs alongside half the leakage levels.

I note the December IMF report, on the Irish Water proposal, states: "The Government's budgetary perspective will be based on Irish Water becoming substantially self-funded over time." Given the current economic deficit, the Minister for Public Expenditure will very much welcome a saving of €1.2 billion going into the future.

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