Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

If one were to run the political and media activity and the hysteria surrounding this matter in recent weeks through the filter at the end of a pipeline, I am not sure that one would find anything of great substance when the filtration process was complete. The one word which has continually arisen during the debate on this subject is "consultant". The entire country became upset at the idea of €50 million being spent on consultants. People, including politicians, reacted and envisaged something from an era that is long gone, namely, €50 million worth of reports being left to sit on a shelf somewhere. The latter is not the case. Deputy Coffey made an outstanding contribution in which he highlighted the nub of the matter. As he pointed out, systems rather than reports are going to be put in place. The largest provider in this regard will be IBM, which will put in place a network which will provide information on the quality of water and which will allow us to identify the location of leaks and how to repair them. In addition, we are going to have a semi-State company that will raise funds on the private markets - these will not appear on the State's balance sheet - for the purposes of employing people to repair the leaks that exist at present.

There will be many benefits to Uisce Éireann. I do not wish to be ultra-partisan in respect of this matter. We all agree that what is being done is good from a national perspective. Unfortunately, it took the arrival of the troika and the inclusion of this matter in the memorandum of understanding in order for action to be taken on this issue. There will be benefits from what is being done but there will also an element of hardship. Deputy Dara Murphy correctly highlighted the fact that the net effect of the process will be that savings will be made. Those savings will be both environmental and economic in nature. I am of the view that we are doing the right thing in the context of the modern world in which we live.

For me, the crux of the matter lies in the fact that already hard-pressed families do not need another excessive bill being delivered to their homes. I refer, in particular, to those with large families, those whose homes are in negative equity and those households with two incomes coming in but with constant outgoings. I would impress upon the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, the fact that the quota of water that will be allocated to people must be more than adequate. If one compares the average use of potable water in countries across Europe with that which obtains in Ireland, one will see that, unfortunately, we are abusing the system at present, whether it is by leaving the tap running while brushing one's teeth, taking long showers or whatever.

It must be acknowledged that mistakes have been made. I am not very happy with the level of openness and transparency relating to the entire process. However, I am very pleased that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, has stated that the freedom of information legislation will form part of the mechanism by means of which the activities of Irish Water will be scrutinised. I compliment Deputies Kevin Humphreys and McCarthy and others on the Government benches who raised this issue and highlighted the fact that openness and transparency are required in respect of it. I am fully aware of the fact that Bord Gáis Networks, with which I have had many dealings in recent years - particularly in the context of the Shannon LNG project at Ballylongford in north Kerry - has the interests of the Irish people at heart. It has been stated that Government Ministers supposedly were not aware that €50 million was spent on consultants and there is a perception that this money may have gone out the back door and that people were paid money they did not really deserve. The culture which previously obtained in this regard no longer exists. The money in question was spent for the benefit of Irish Water, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the State.

We have undergone a process whereby the noise and the nonsense have been filtered out and we have now reached the crux of the matter. If there are questions to be asked in the context of the county managers' allocation of €5.5 million to €5.7 million, then I would like to hear the answers to them. Deputy Cowen pointed out that Fianna Fáil is in favour of the concept of Uisce Éireann. In that context, there must be transparency regarding how and why the company was established and, ultimately, how much its operations are going to cost the people of the country.

Everything that has been done conforms to EU tendering guidelines. Nothing underhanded has occurred but I recommend that, from now on, those appointed to State boards, agencies or whatever should possess the relevant expertise. If such individuals are affiliated to political parties, we must ensure that they bring something of substance to the table with them. A charge has been made against the Government on this front. I would like to see that which is the subject of the charge being completely eradicated from Irish politics.

The final point I wish to raise relates to the bonus culture, which has again reared its head. I understand that the troika insisted on a tight timeframe and that an incentive was put in place in respect of certain people as a result.

The troika implemented a tight timeframe but no one should benefit from a bonus. Do a job and get paid for it is how the country should work.

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