Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the Fianna Fáil Private Members' motion on Irish Water. I thank my colleague, Deputy Barry Cowen, for tabling the motion.

The motion 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 and the need for a comprehensive national water investment program to improve, protect and maintain supplies to homes and industry throughout the country. A total of €6 billion has been invested in improvements to water services in recent years and further funds will be required. I have no doubt we could be here in ten years' time debating the need for further investment to improve the quality of the services. The motion also calls for the immediate extension of freedom of information legislation to cover Irish Water, including its establishment period. I am pleased the Minister, Deputy Phil Hogan, is in the Chamber to hear this part of the debate.

Many on this side of the House as well as in the public sphere would accept that this new super-quango, Irish Water, was not the way to go about implementing the investment programme and the process was flawed from the beginning. Bord Gáis was chosen because it has a customer base of 600,000 and was therefore deemed the most suitable organisation to implement a new State monopoly with a customer base of 1.8 million. It must be noted that Bord Gáis will produce the billings and enrol customers but the Government plans to privatise that arm of Bord Gáis which has the specific expertise for dealing with the customer base. The expertise that will be required will be privatised once Irish Water is up and running. If the Fine Gael Party is in government after the next election, it will be privatised. The commitment in the legislation that Irish Water will not be privatised is only a commitment for today and does not prevent it being privatised at some future time-----

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