Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Previously the funding of local government required that motor taxation revenue would go to fund local authorities. The Government pilfered this account and took money, which we as car owners have continued to pay, from the local authority budgets to pay the national debt. Now it is looking for it again. To listen to the Tánaiste one would think the local authorities never fixed a water main or brought in any programmes to remediate. Is it not the case that under the Government not a single kilometre of water mains has been repaired? Is it not the case that within a kilometre of this building are massive public buildings where not one measure such as rainwater harvesting or other conservation measures has been imposed? The local authorities in the greater Dublin area were working on a geographic information system project involving mapping, leakage and telemetry of our water system. This project cost the taxpayers millions and has involved tens of thousands of staff hours. It was almost at completion, which would have been brilliant to secure our understanding of our water supply, but Irish Water has axed it. It will not go ahead because somebody in Irish Water's friend, who works in Bord Gáis, has a different computer system. What is unfolding in Irish Water will make the HSE look like an efficient fit for purpose organisation. It is nothing more than a quango lining up our water services to be privatised to Denis O'Brien, who has done the Government some nice favours through his ownership of Independent News and Media.

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