Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

This is a day of shame for the Government and a day of fear, anxiety and outrage for hundreds of thousands of families who, for the first time in the history of the State, will be charged to access the basic human right to water, on top of all of the stealth charges and taxes that have been loaded on the people to the point where many are utterly crippled financially. The anger and outrage felt are manifest in mass meetings and protests the length and breadth of the country and we are likely to see tens of thousands on the streets before the upcoming budget is announced, demanding that the Government abolish these hateful charges.

If all of that is not bad enough, to add insult to injury, Irish Water, in its efforts to force people to pay this unjust and regressive tax, is also asking for PPS numbers and personal information and data on all households in the State. This has raised very serious issues and legitimate fears about the protection of personal data and what Irish Water may do with them. Let us be clear: under the legislation, Irish Water has been designated to be a private company. Therefore, people are being asked to provide PPS numbers and personal information for a private company. Interestingly, the Irish Water website has been changed in the past few days to cover up its initial policy, but it still states the information will be used for marketing purposes, shared with agents or third parties, can be transferred and processed by staff operating outside the European economic area and Irish Water suppliers. By agreeing to submit the information, people are consenting to all of the above and the use of this detailed and sensitive personal information in these ways by a private company, its suppliers and others with whom it works.

The ESB does not ask for or require PPS numbers and, until now, Bord Gáis did not ask for them. Why is Irish Water seeking this personal and sensitive information, about which the Data Protection Commissioner said people should be careful? Specialists and consultants in the area have described the manner in which Irish Water is seeking the information as unsupportable approaches for information. The Data Protection Commissioner has said clarification is needed. This is a serious issue about sensitive, personal information being handed over to a private company that is linking the demand for the information with allowances and charges and what people may pay. This leads many to believe they have no choice but to hand over the information. How can the Minister of State stand over and justify this? What reassurance can he give that the information will not be handed over to other bodies and parties that may abuse personal information that is the property of citizens?

See this speech in context