Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

In the past few days, some members of Government parties have been speaking about a referendum to keep Irish Water resources in public ownership. What is the Taoiseach's attitude to that? While I am not opposed to it, is the Taoiseach as amazed as I am at the audacity and sheer neck of some of these people, who are responsible for making water a market commodity, therefore, opening it up to privatisation, and who are now trying to pose as champions of keeping water public by looking for a referendum? These people are the hapless Green Party members, the politically condemned in the Labour Party and the politically threatened in Fine Gael. The Fine Gael mayor of Drogheda has gone native in the past 48 hours.

Will the Taoiseach agree that the clearest protection to ensure our water resources remain in public hands is not to turn it into a commodity and, therefore, to abolish these hated water charges? Let me save him much time and trouble by telling him that if he persists in this, he will go down to perdition on the issue. He will not win. These charges will be abolished and the Taoiseach should listen to the people in that regard.

See this speech in context