The following motion was moved by Deputy Barry Cowen on Wednesday, 15 January 2014:That Dáil Éireann: notes:— the critical role water plays in our social and economic infrastructure and the right of all citizens to access a safe, clean and sustainable water supply; — the need for a comprehensive national water investment program to improve, protect and maintain supplies to homes and industry throughout the country; — that investment should specifically target on-going leakage issues and the quality of water supplied to homes; and — the vital part that a strong water infrastructure plays in attracting investment and promoting economic growth;condemns:— the scandalous overspend in the €100 million it has cost for the creation of Irish Water to date, in particular the €50 million going to consultancy fees; — the complete lack of transparency in the establishment of Irish Water, as it does not currently fall under freedom of information legislation; — the fact that Irish Water places a new layer of bureaucracy on top of the existing water services system with excessive spending on recruitment and consultancy fees which duplicate existing expertise; — the financial pressures that democratically accountable local authorities face in being stripped of their water assets while being burdened with pension bills; — the fact that homeowners will face water charges from January 2015 despite the lack of a national audit of the water infrastructure and investment program to ensure people are paying for a service that delivers; and — the Government’s decision to rush Irish Water legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas without proper oversight or scrutiny;rejects any moves towards the privatisation of Irish Water; calls on the Government:— to conduct an immediate value for money review to clarify the spending levels of Irish Water on consultancy fees; and — to end the duplication of resources between Irish Water and local authority staff; and calls: — for the immediate extension of freedom of information legislation to cover Irish Water including its establishment period; and — for a complete national audit of the water system and the roll out of a comprehensive water investment program to bring the service up to standard.

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