Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The website of the Consumers' Association of Ireland, under its "Know your rights" section, states:

Under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980, anything you buy from a retailer must be:- of merchantable quality

- fit for its normal purpose, and reasonably durable[.]

As this is the water services Bill, I imagine that this service should come under these provisions as well. It further states:

When you buy goods from a retailer, you make a contract with him. He agrees to provide certain goods to you for a certain price. If your purchase turns out to be faulty, the retailer, not the manufacturer, is responsible to you and must sort out your complaint. You are entitled to a refund, a replacement or a repair. [...]

If you have a genuine complaint about faulty goods, you can ignore shop notices such as 'No Refunds' or 'No Exchanges'. Such notices cannot take away any of your statutory rights under the Sale of Goods Act[.]

I have a question for the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd. When the Government starts charging people for water, what will it do about the people who live outside my town, Castlerea, in the Castlerea rural scheme, who are forced to drink the water I have here? I have checked with Standing Orders and the word "piss" is not one of the words one is not allowed to use in this Chamber, unless directed at a Member. The people in my area are expected to drink glorified piss and the Government is going to charge them for it. The reality is that we are not going to pay for it.

I have a challenge for the Minister of State today. I will present him with this water and challenge him to drink it, and if he does not drink it then he is not drinking it for a reason, because it is poison. It has got cryptosporidium in it. Kids outside my town cannot even brush their teeth with this water, and the Government is going to charge them for it. I have a present for you Minister, and I am going to give it to you now, because this is way too big to let go of.

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