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

At the moment, operating the water service in this country costs €1.2 billion, but I believe that this cost will increase under a centralised service run by Irish Water. Our amendments are aimed at addressing this because obviously there will be a cost to the householder down the line. Even at a cost of €1.2 billion, divided by 1.5 million households, we are talking about an average cost of approximately €700 per household. On top of that, there is the proposed installation of water meters, which will require the borrowing of up to €500 million from the National Pensions Reserve Fund, although the local government professional services steering group believes the figure will be higher. The cost of that will also be put onto the householder. I ask the Minister of State to address this issue, which has not been addressed in any of our previous debates on this legislation. The funds for the installation of meters will have to be paid back on top of the cost of the water service, which will increase the annual charge.

Accountability under the new water service structure is also an issue of concern. Irish Water will be a private company, limited by guarantee but in State ownership. I accept what the Minister of State has said, that it is not the intention of this Government, at this point in time, to privatise it. The Minister of State can look me straight in the eye and tell me that and I will believe he is telling me the truth. However, had I asked a previous Minister two or three years ago if he or she intended to sell off the harvesting rights in Coillte or large chunks of Bord Gáis, I would have been told that the Government had no intention of doing so. The point is that intentions change with circumstances.

Currently, there is democratic control within the local authority system and the process is owned by householders and those who pay rates. When a company is created and a meter is placed outside my door and every other door, the process becomes a cash cow. There will be a commodity value for a private company and international investors from the likes of China or whoever has the cash to buy it. That is where the danger will lie down the line, as the new Uisce Éireann will be exposed to privatisation. The current Government will be in power for a certain length of time but even in that time, circumstances may change. That is the concern that Sinn Féin has.

Amendment No. 38 relates to poverty-proofing. I have asked whether a poverty impact analysis has been carried out, as there would be a significant impact, particularly on low-income people. Yesterday I raised here the commitment in the programme for Government relating to a waiver for refuse collection. Low-income households in County Laois have been waiting for 26 years for a waiver system that exists in other parts of the country. There is no waiver or exemption in this process; it is the same with the household charge. The can can be kicked down the road but the bill will be put in the pocket. The bill can be paid when the house is sold.

Refuse collections have no waivers or exemptions. There is an exemption for low-income households in the North, as well as other exemptions in the rates system. We are not totally happy with the system but as one of five parties, we have limited power to change. That is a key point. How will water charges affect low-income groups, large households, disabled and sick people and premises that need much water for medical reasons? Those households will be affected in a very bad way. As I mentioned with regard to refuse collection, there is no waiver scheme or relief, with the household charge coming and bills dropping through the letterbox next week.

I told the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, last Friday that I met people in Graiguecullen last Thursday night and it is not a case that they do not want to pay but rather that this is affecting their physical and mental health. The accumulation of what has happened in the past four to five years has ground down these people mentally, physically and economically. They are exhausted and terrified of what is coming. I do not want to overstate the matter but I have never seen people as concerned and in fear of what is coming. Although I will not overstate the Government's proposals, I will not understate it either. I believe in giving facts to people. Will the Government take on board amendment No. 38 in order to poverty-proof the process? There should be relief for people if the Government is going to follow through on the issue.

The accountability issue runs through a number of amendments. Currently, a Deputy or town or county councillor can contact an area engineer and get a response. However inadequate the system is under the local authorities, councillors and Deputies were able to get a response during the big freeze. Officials in the Custom House may be removed from this but the people on the ground trying to ensure that services keep going saw the benefits. During the big freeze most of the Twenty-six Counties saw this benefit and were able to keep a reasonably good water supply going. Where there was disruption, the problem was remedied fairly quickly because of a good working relationship between local elected representatives and the water services section in a council.

In the North it is a different story, and the Sinn Féin Minister had a major battle to get any kind of response. County Louth - the Minister of State's home - had to supply parts of County Down with water. That is how far the water was moved because of the separate company involved, Northern Ireland Water. I am highlighting the bad elements in the North, which are evident in the system we inherited. The Assembly was established but Northern Ireland Water had been set up for a number of years. It is inadequate so we must have democratic control in the local authority system, particularly with regard to essential services like roads, water, sewerage and housing. We must have that in a democracy. Those who set up local authorities may have founded the Minister of State's party or my party but they had in common an acceptance of the need to have local control over local services. We are advocating a national framework team to oversee the process, co-ordinate it and implement standards. We must work through the local authority system to make that improvement.

The Government is prepared to sell the operations of the lotto system and trees from Coillte. I heard a Labour Minister quipping that Coillte sells trees but currently it sells the product directly to local sawmills. The Government is proposing that it would sell trees to a multinational company, which would sell the product to sawmills or the highest bidder. If the Government is prepared to sell trees, the lotto and the profitable parts of Bord Gáis, it tells me that it would have no qualms about selling the water company if the need arose. That would be a step too far. I appeal to the Minister of State to accept the amendments we are putting forward in good faith. We are trying to knock the rough edges from the Government's actions. The day we establish Uisce Éireann will be a bad day for democracy.

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