Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Having heard Deputy Durkan's contribution, I am tempted to respond in kind. His contribution was typical of members of the current regime who believe that if one can make a political point one need not mind about the truth. The simple fact of the matter is that time and again people such as myself spoke about the need to protect our water sources. What we said was unfair - this was finally accepted by the previous Minister - was that where one's source is the public mains system - that is, a public sewer or a public water supply - the cost is borne by the State by way of the taxpayer, including those taxpayers who do not have public wastewater systems, but under the former Minister's initial proposals for upgrading wastewater systems, the people of rural Ireland were expected to foot the total bill. We said there was a fundamental injustice involved and that if the State afforded assistance by way of providing funding for wastewater systems in towns and cities and for people on the public mains system, it should afford the same provision for people in rural Ireland. Eventually, after a long struggle, the former Minister met us some of the way. I am big enough, unlike Deputy Durkan, to admit that he came some of the way, although he did not come the full way. There are still huge anomalies in the scheme he introduced.

There is an issue that the Minister of State should address. It is ironic that if one has a substandard private wastewater system and wants to upgrade it, one will not get a grant for upgrading it, even though one knows the system is substandard, until the local authority decides to inspect it. In other words, if the local authority does not select a particular person's system for inspection, that person cannot get assistance to upgrade, even though he or she may know the system does not pass muster. That seems rather bizarre, because anybody who has a substandard system should be assisted in upgrading it. He or she should not have to wait for an inspection to take place, thereby prolonging the period during which there is the potential for groundwater pollution.

It is amazing that Deputy Durkan did not address the issue of the bill. The bill is a basic premise of most businesses. If one receives a faulty service or does not get a service, one does not pay for it. That is a very basic principle. Deputy Durkan seemed to think that it was outrageous of Fianna Fáil to state what should happen if one has a bad water supply and has to buy drinking water because the water quality is not up to standard. He seemed to say that people should be forced to pay for a product that is not up to standard. Does anybody here know anybody who would buy a faulty product, knowing it was faulty, and be forced to pay for it or be willing to pay for it? The simple answer to that is "No." What Deputy Cowen's Bill proposes is quite simple - namely, that people who are provided with a substandard product should not pay for it. A substandard product is one that is not fit for the purpose for which it is designed. If there are boil-water notices in some areas, it is clear that the water supply in those areas is not fit for purpose.

If this Bill is introduced, we will find that within a year or two Uisce Éireann will have deployed the resources to where they are needed to resolve these problems. However, if we do not go down this route, Uisce Éireann will say that these are areas of low population density and that there are more urgent things to be done - let us forget about them and put them on the back boiler. Promises are being made by the Government. One day it says that the Commissioner for Energy Regulation will decide these matters, while another day it says it will do this and that. The simple fact of the matter is that if the Government accepted this legislation, the CER would have to accept it because it would be the law of the land. It would provide certainty to people into the future, which is very important.

Ba mhaith liom díriú ar cheist eile nach bhfuil mórán caint air sna meáin, ait go leor, is é sin an fhadhb a bhí ann i gcaith an samhraidh ar Inis Meáin agus Inis Oírr, áit a bhfuil na mílte míle euro á caith ag tógáil uisce isteach ar bháid chuile lá. Dhá bhád, lá le huisce, ceann acu ag dul chuig Inis Meáin agus ceann ag dul chuig Inis Oírr, mar nach bhfuil dóthain uisce ar na hoileáin sin. Go mór mhór i gcás Inis Oírr, bhí tacaíocht bhreise curtha ar fáil ag an Rialtas deireanach. D’oibrigh sin ar feadh deich mbliana. Ní raibh ciondáil uisce ar an oileán mar ghnáth chuid laethúil d’obair dhaoine i rith an achair sin. Ansin tháinig athrú ar an gcóras i mbliana agus cuireadh córas nua isteach atá ag cur go leor uisce amú. Dá bharr sin, ar oileán atá ag braith go hiomlán i rith an tsamhraidh ar thurasóireacht, níl aon uisce ó 6 um thráthnóna go dtí 8 ar maidin, mí i ndiaidh míosa. Níor tharla seo ar feadh seachtaine nó ar feadh coicíse. Tá sé ag tarlúint ar feadh an tsamhraidh. Tá sé fíorphráinneach anois go dtiocfadh an tAire nó an tAire Stáit, an Teachta Joe McHugh, agus Uisce Éireann le chéile chun staidéar sciobtha a dhéanamh ar an bhfadhb agus réiteach a fháil agus a chinntiú go mbeidh uisce ar na hoileáin. Beidh sé mícheart a bheith ag gearradh táille uisce ar theaghlaigh na n-oileán de bharr na heaspa uisce atá ar na hoileáin agus ní ceart táillí a ghearradh ar ghnó ar na hoileáin go dtí go mbeidh an fhadhb seo réitithe. An féidir a shamhlú duine ag iarraidh bialann a rith gan uisce a bheith ar fáil tar éis a sé a chlog um thráthnóna? Ní féidir gnó a rith ar an mbealach sin. Fós féin, beidh Uisce Éireann ag iarraidh táillí uisce.

Nuair a bheidh an tAire ag caint ag an deireadh b’fhéidir go mbeidh sé in ann a dheimhniú, ar a laghad go ndéanfaidh sé fiosrúcháin maidir leis an scéal agus go ndéanfaidh sé scrúdú, go suífidh sé síos leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Joe McHugh, le pobal an dá oileán agus go dtiocfaidh siad ar réiteach na faidhbe seo.

Beidh mé ag siúl le haisfhreagra ón Aire inniu nó go luath ar an gceist seo. Leanfaidh mé liom ag cur brú maidir leis an gceist go dtí go dtiocfar ar réiteach.

Those in the party that sits to the right of us here think we should charge for nothing and that there should be no limit to services provided, but they never tell us where they will get the money to fund them. There are two parties sitting on this side of the House who do not realise that the effect of the burden on citizens results from the cumulative bills they get and not each individual bill. The accumulation of the local property tax and water charges will put an imposition on low-income families that many cannot afford. The local property tax is higher in cities. It is often higher for people who may not have a large income but happen to live in an area where houses are valuable for historic reasons. It is indiscriminate. The reality is that the Government has not been willing to face these facts. The Government said there would be a 15% decrease in the local property tax, but then it made sure there was no money to implement that provision.

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