Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----at the foundation of the State. Irish Water is a publicly owned water service which is in State ownership and will stay in State ownership, which, in the context of some of the advice that was being received internationally by the members of the Opposition opposite me, is a significant achievement. This will allow for an investment in the next couple of years of €1.7 billion, which will be in a vehicle, a public utility owned by the State, which, like the ESB, will be able to raise money internationally.

The Deputy is suggesting that the return from Irish Water, because it is a State-owned company, will not be the same kind of return that a privately owned utility might yield.

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