Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We will do our best to keep to time.

I welcome this debate on Irish Water. There has been much scare-mongering on this topic and it is hoped that this debate will help to allay fears and establish the facts. The provision of water costs money which must be accounted for. I agree there needs to be a domestic allowance but people cannot expect to get unlimited quantities of water free of charge. Most rural dwellers currently pay for water through local water schemes, submersible home pumps and wells and metered supply. Businesses also pay for water usage.

The moneys raised over the past decades have contributed to the existing system. It is a nonsense to suggest that home owners should not pay for water until the infrastructure is up to world-class standards. This motion does not take into account that people like myself pay for the water we use and we are very reliant on its supply. We pay for the water we use and we work with the supply we have. This is not an ideal situation at times, with the result that people will often pay extra for storage facilities and pumping systems, depending on the topography of the land on which they live. I live in a limestone area and the necessary water softeners, associated equipment and servicing, costs money. Other areas contain high iron levels which may be more difficult than dealing with limestone. Water is not homogenous and its extraction depends on the base rock from which it comes.

I cannot allow county councils to be condemned for their water services. The staff of the water services division of Cork County Council have always striven to provide a better service even in difficult financial times. The current water delivery situation is not acceptable by any means. In Cork we pay for water by the cubic metre, which is approximately €2.35. Operational costs account for €2.06, leaving only 29 cent for loan repayment and infrastructural development. An extra 17 cent per cu m at a minimum is required in order to provide the service.

I refer to the new term, "unaccounted for water", UFW. Approximately 140,000 cu. m of water is consumed daily in the combined areas of north, south and west Cork. This is a great logistical and organisational workload which is replicated across the country. This is what is facing Irish Water.

The scientific analysis required to continually test potable water is significant. It is necessary to test for coliforms, taste, colour, Ph levels, conductivity, phosphates, nitrates, for example. A centralised testing body would standardise this work and be more efficient.

It is wrong to ask a small subset of people to pay for critical infrastructure. The national approach by Irish Water is correct and a proper pricing structure is necessary. The advantages of scale should allow the necessary moneys to be raised independently and value to be achieved. We cannot afford to have drinkable water becoming a limiting factor when we are doubling our milk production. The demand for drinkable water is set to increase sharply over the next few years. While I agree that transparency is necessary, we cannot lose sight of the objective of the creation of a world-class water delivery organisation. The scale of delivering an efficient and working organisation is huge. I am pleased that Irish companies are involved in setting up Irish Water because these companies are delivering necessary jobs in communities.

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