Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move:

"That Dáil Éireann:supports the establishment of Irish Water as a long-term strategic investment project that will deliver the scale of investment necessary to deliver water services infrastructure to the highest standards required to meet the needs of the Irish people;

recognises that managing our water resources effectively is essential to ensure that Ireland can continue to support indigenous economic activity and employment, including in relation to tourism, and to attract major overseas investment and employment;

welcomes:

— the important regulatory role of the Commission for Energy Regulation in relation to water services, particularly in protecting the interests of the customers of Irish Water;

— the efficiencies in capital and operational programmes already being delivered by Irish Water and the continued efficiencies to be achieved in the years ahead; and

— the progress being made by Irish Water in implementing the national programme of domestic water metering, with some 500,000 meters now installed, supporting 1,300 jobs;

condemns intimidation and harassment of workers involved in the metering programme and any other form of non-peaceful protest;

acknowledges the demanding timelines for implementation of the water reform programme to date, which have not fully reflected the scale of the challenge in moving from local government delivery to a fully regulated single national public utility;

recognises that the complexity of aspects of the previous charging regime has created uncertainty for customers in relation to their bills in 2015 and beyond;

in light of the foregoing, welcomes the package of measures approved by the Government on 19th November, 2014, particularly the measures which provide certainty, simplicity and affordability in relation to domestic water charges, and maintain a strong focus on conservation;

and endorses the Government's continued commitment to public ownership of the national water services infrastructure."

This is a significant moment for our country. We as a Government have made mistakes, but we now face a critical choice.

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