Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss and debate this fundamental issue. We heard Deputy Naughten say that one in four people in Roscommon were without proper, clean drinking water and Deputy Ferris talking about boil notices. This gives one some understanding of the disastrous level of water infrastructure we have. In recent years Dublin has experienced a loss of water supply.

It must be difficult for the Minister of State to sit and watch the so-called Leader of the Opposition, Deputy Micheál Martin, leading a walk-out from the Chamber on the Bill. He was a Minister in the previous Administration which failed to make an investment in this critical infrastructure. That Administration made the deal with the troika, including a commitment to introduce this legislation by 1 January 2014. With false indignation, he led a walk-out followed by the protest before people brigade. I find it particularly sickening that a man who sat at the Cabinet table and led the country in such a disastrous way and allowed it to go broke - the Government is picking up the pieces after such disastrous decisions - can stand up and say he will not debate. He has run away with his toys and refused to debate the issue. Perhaps it was too problematic for him to sit in the Chamber having realised he had sat in the Cabinets that had failed to invest in vital infrastructure and make sure there were proper pipes under the ground and a proper water supply. This was well described by Deputy Denis Naughten who remained in the Chamber to make these points.

I am a Dublin-based Deputy and we do not have to pay for our water supply. I sat in on the hearings of the environment committee and listened to the representatives of many group water schemes who had been paying for water for decades and they could not understand why people in urban areas were so anti the purchasing of water. Then there were Fianna Fáil, the Progressive Democrats, the Green Party or whatever other grouping Bertie Ahern used to drag around him following his private deals when he gave little benefits and bonuses to Independent Members who had backed him. Perhaps some Independents got money for the CRC. Have we not seen where the money ended up?

I refer briefly to the problems affecting the capital city and do not say this with a mé féin attitude that Dublin should come first. In Dublin 60% of all taxation is collected. Dublin is a regional city and now stretches from Bray and Arklow on one side to Drogheda and Dundalk on the other. The Minister of State knows the number of people who commute into the city every day to work. The region stretches as far as Mullingar to the west. We are competing with London, Manchester and Paris for foreign direct investment. IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland have done well in attracting foreign direct investment that will create jobs we need and income to provide services for the people. It is not good enough for a capital city that competes against European countries and cities to have a water emergency. There is certainly a need for long-term planning. We are heading into the local elections and will hear many candidates say we cannot pay for water and that they will not pay for it. I ask them to put up or shut up. How can we modernise the water system and have a world class infrastructure to supply water to the people?

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