Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Today marks a fresh start for Ervia-Irish Water. This new beginning has been made possible through the viable and tangible economic recovery under way. This is a welcome turnaround in a little over three and a half years. From despair that could have ground us down, we have moved to the cautious but realistic hope of a future rooted in shared prosperity. This has been achieved through the resilience of the people whose sacrifices made the recovery possible.

Speaking of the United States in 1932, before he became President and in the midst of the great depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously said:

The country needs, the country demands, bold, persistent experimentation. Take a method and try it. If it fails admit it frankly and try another.

Yes, in fixing the country we have made some mistakes along the way. I have no problem in admitting this. At times we have been accused of not listening. However, I believe the country is in a much better place because of the work we have done. Today we have listened and delivered. We have listened to concerns and frustrations expressed about Irish Water and delivered a new charging structure that is affordable and provides certainty and clarity about what people will have to pay.

The Government has never walked away from any challenge that has confronted it, yet we have endured perhaps the biggest set of challenges facing any Government in the history of the State. That task has required us at all times to be level-headed. We have had to balance economic demands with the maintenance of social cohesion. We have had to broaden the tax base, while ensuring low and middle income families are not squeezed further. We started that process of reform in the budget and will continue with it.

We have had to get businesses back on their feet while continuing to invest in vital services.

A modern economy needs an infrastructure that provides clean water in sufficient quantity for homes and businesses. Security and quality of water supply and sewage services are essential to economic growth. To see why, we only have to consider the impact on businesses in Dublin this time last year when there was a water shortage, or the fact that multinationals based in Ireland have stressed the need for a reliable water supply to facilitate production. Last week, we had a great announcement on the north and west side of Dublin of 1,000 construction jobs at a new state-of-the-art biological medical facility, which will be one of the most advanced in the world. That is Irish success. That is what all of our people have done. That is what we, as a Government, have helped to deliver. Multinationals in Ireland need to have reliable water for the tens of thousands of people who are finding employment, not to mention our own local industries, businesses and entrepreneurs.

Simply put, our water pipes, sewers and treatment plants must work as efficiently and productively as our fibre-optic networks, data centres and power plants. Instead, much of Ireland’s water network dates from Victorian times, and we have seen problems across the country with supply, such as boil-water notices in several counties. This is the result of chronic under-investment in water infrastructure over many years, and people have to understand that.

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