Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Chair is in total command.

As I said, they only offer protest, slogans and dead ends; they do not offer solutions to the complex problems facing society and the economy. When the country sees the benefit of these reforms and the debate moves to the next challenge, they will abandon those vulnerable households and householders whom they have encouraged to break the law. They have no alternative to the requirement for Irish Water and the programme of restoration and investment it is necessary to implement.

In contrast, government is about finding solutions and making decisions to implement these solutions. We are driven by the need to reshape the country to safeguard the future for children. In that context, we stand over fully the decision to create a single water utility. A single centre of expertise to manage the national water network is already beginning to deliver benefits. The utility has adopted a new approach towards asset management and capital project planning. This is evident in the targeted €170 million saving through the proposed Ringsend wastewater treatment plant upgrade as an alternative to plant extension. This amount is equivalent to the cost of the establishment of Irish Water and has been saved in one strategic decision by the utility. We have also witnessed the saving of €100,000 per month through the restructuring of the upgrading contract for the major treatment works required in Galway city which are under way. This has happened because the utility is taking a national approach to all water assets. This is best practice in asset management and points to the company's new and modern approach. This would have been very hard to achieve under the disparate, local authority managed public water system.

The centralisation of procurement is also delivering new efficiencies that were never achieved under the old system of 34 water service authorities. Some €12 million has already been saved on goods and services procurement in the first year alone.

There has been a focus on improving water quality, a focus people living in certain parts of the country such as Roscommon would like to have seen years ago. By the end of the year, as a result of Irish Water investment, boil water notices will have been removed for the first time in 12 years in many parts of County Roscommon.

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