Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. It is approximately 25 years since I first tabled a parliamentary question about the availability of adequate supplies of domestic drinking water in all areas throughout the country. I submitted similar questions on each occasion on which successive Ministers with responsibility for this matter came before the House. It is extremely sad that this country underwent an economic boom during which nothing happened. At the end of that boom, local authorities were refusing to grant planning permission on the basis of a lack of adequate water supplies, treatment facilities and availability of domestic drinking water.

I am very fond of Deputy Cowen, who is a nice guy. There are many extremely nice people living in his constituency, which lies adjacent to that which I represent. I served in the House alongside the Deputy's brother and father, both of whom were honourable individuals. Deputy Cowen is also honourable, but he must be between a rock and a hard place to have come up with the Bill currently before the House. I understand where he is coming from. He is trying to weave a path through the people sitting behind him - who want everything to be free of charge for all and sundry - while seeking to remain realistic and take into account difficulties with regard to cryptosporidium in water supplies. It must be noted that in the past couple of years a number of individuals who sit in the seats adjacent to that which the Deputy currently occupies mounted huge campaigns in order to ensure that groundwater would not be improved and the new septic tank regime would not be accepted. There is a massive contradiction in terms of the Bill before us.

The reality is that the buck must stop somewhere. A famous former President of the United States had a sign on his desk which proclaimed "The buck stops here." The buck has finally stopped in this country. It is ironic that when it came to power three and a half years ago, the Government was obliged to address the major infrastructural deficit that exists in this area and that it had no money to do so. It is not that long since the water supply in the major tourism centre that is Galway was full of cryptosporidium, that Latin individual about which we hear so much. Tourists were afraid to visit the area as a result. We heard a great deal of blarney and rubbish about the matter at the time, when what was actually needed was a major plan to address the issues involved. The first of those is the fact that it will not be possible to encourage industrial development of the kind required in order to provide full employment unless there is access to adequate water supplies, telecommunications, road networks and transport. If we achieve the latter, then we will bring people closer both to each other and to the international community to which we sell our goods and services. Ireland's is an open economy and we sell almost 90% of what we produce abroad. It is extremely important, therefore, that this infrastructure is provided.

It is appalling that the quality of water supplies was allowed to deteriorate to the extent to which it has done in recent years. A number of individuals on the opposite side of the House who are not here at present have stated that water should be free.

Of course, it should be free and it would be great if it was. I would be supportive of this, if I could get someone to lay the pipes, provide the purification plant and all that goes with it for nothing. If such a man or woman was willing to volunteer, it would be free.

There are those who say we pay enough in taxes. That argument is wearing thin. Whether we pay enough in taxes - we pay a good deal in taxes - providing services free is a very serious question.

As you will recall, Acting Chairman - I recall it well and imagine our colleagues on the other side of the House recall it, too - there were times in the past when services were provided by the local authority. Many campaigned and were elected on the basis that such services should be free. What happened? The services were taken from the local authority. Why? It was because the local authority could not afford to provide them. A particular example was an effective waiver in respect of water services. Another was refuse collection services. The waiver scheme was simple and cost-effective to operate. However, there were many protests about it, while the service was operated alongside those provided by the commercial private sector. What happened? The local authority had the privilege of serving all those with a waiver, for whom the private sector took no responsibility. What did we get? There was a discontinuation of the local authority service, which was both sad and an appalling thing to happen.

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