Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Maybe we could drink beer. In the Middle Ages it was common to drink beer when one could not drink the water. Maybe not washing one’s clothes is an option. Those in a better financial position than ourselves might not fill their swimming pools. They could fill the hot tub with rainwater. One could eat cake; one would not have to boil one’s spuds or pasta. The steamy Irish Water saga continues. We could face a future in which people share showers and baths. In case my wife is listening, I do not want the tap end.

We have been promised clarity. Although people may accuse me of being flippant and failing to address the issue, I am deadly serious. It is a tax too far, and the Government needs to take the message on board. The Government says it is listening to people: they are saying this is a regressive tax.

People do not believe the Government when it says water supply will not be privatised. Privatisation is the hidden agenda, and it is happening across Europe. There is no real explanation of what the Government means by a plebiscite. No matter what the Government says, the people do not believe that Irish Water will not be privatised. The Government has lost all credibility with the public. It has failed to listen to people for far too long and has underestimated their anger and resolve. We tabled the motion in order to give power back to the people. We want to see it enshrined in the Constitution, and if people disagree, they would have the option to vote against it. Support for the Bill, which provides for a referendum to retain water services in full public ownership and prevent privatisation of the service or infrastructure now or in the future, would empower Irish people and make water a constitutional right.

The international context can teach us much on the issue. Around the world, Governments and private companies are trying to turn water into a commodity to be exploited for profit, and not a public resource or an intrinsic part of an integrated ecosystem. It begins with moves such as those of the Government, and it ends in disaster. We have choices. The Government's members have choices. People have spoken. We have seen them out on the streets. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, said the large turnout in Dublin was the last hurrah. Yet the Minister of State, Deputy White, knows from listening to supporters in his constituency that this has not gone away and will not go away. He has an opportunity, in this motion, to copperfasten the right to water.

In the Minister's opinion, water charges are here to stay. We have a different view; we want to abolish them. Although the Minister said the water metering programme would continue, the options announced yesterday say the opposite. There is no constitutional right to water. Yesterday was a confused, complicated introductory offer from the Government which did not fool the public. They know that once water charges are in place, they will only increase. Although the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, said he would implement legislation that would keep the charges at a certain level until 2019, it is no guarantee. There is no guarantee about who will be in government after the next election. It is just another promise by the Government.

It is clear that Irish Water is unfit for purpose. There is a general consensus in the House that it has been one disaster after another. It has been characterised by excessive spending on consultants, bonuses and cronyism. Irish Water and the Government have no credibility. All sections of society will mobilise on 10 December and it will be a barometer for the Government. This morning, the Minister said the Government would not move. Although the Government said the same 12 months ago - that it could not change - it has shifted. While I welcome the fact that the Government has shifted, it has not shifted far enough. It needs to move further on the privatisation issue. We have made a positive proposal about enshrining the right to water in the Constitution.

Whether the charge is €60, €120 or whatever, it is a tax too far. The electorate gave this message to me and many of the Minister’s party colleagues when they called to the door. The Minister has choices. I do not believe him when he says the Government will not move again. Yesterday, Joe Duffy's “Liveline” show held a ten-minute poll, and of the 15,000 people who responded, 71% still opposed the charges. It was just a sample, a snapshot, like an opinion poll. If the Minister is listening to this debate, he needs to listen long and hard, adapt his policies to deal with what people are saying about the charges, end the privatisation and abolish the charges.

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