Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to join with others in condemning the violence at the weekend directed towards Members of this House. It is completely unacceptable in a democracy. It is also fair to point out, however, that the previous protests that occurred under the guise of the Right2Water campaign on 11 October and two weeks ago were done fairly and peacefully. I can speak for the two protests in Mayo which were undertaken peacefully and organised in a good atmosphere and in complete co-operation with the Garda Síochána. To paint every protest with the same brush is completely unfair to peaceful protestors and to the gardaí who have taken time to ensure that what happened last Saturday would not happen at other protests. I think the same will apply on 10 December.

The motion we are being asked to support seeks to do a number of things. The overall message is to ask this House to endorse the monumental incompetence and arrogance that has characterised the Government's handling of Irish Water and the water issue generally. I will proudly vote against that motion this evening.

The old claim we have heard since the last election, that the troika is making us do it, does not hold up on this one at all. As the Minister of State knows from recent months, the troika's view is that there are targets to be met but they can be met in whichever way the Government chooses to meet them in terms of revenue. Fine Gael is slightly less worried about other commitments that were made in the troika programme, particularly the reform of legal services. It strikes me therefore that there are different horses for different courses.

The troika has left and Ministers have spent much of the last 12 months parading around this House stating how great the Government is. Many claims were made about the budget also. However, the Government can now make its own calls economically, so it does not need to raise revenue from this.

We accept that reform of water delivery is needed, but not the model that has been forced upon us. I caught the end of Deputy Eoghan Murphy's remarks in which he tried to get answers to questions. That sums up all our collective frustration surrounding this matter. The Government is forcing that model on us even though it was told not to proceed with it after handing out €160 million to consultants. That model is wrong and completely unsuited to Ireland. First of all, it is a company and any company can be privatised. No matter how much the Government promises otherwise, the prospect of privatisation is still there.

The Government should instead have an authority similar to the National Roads Authority or the NTMA which have the capacity to deliver multiannual, multi-billion euro programmes. Most importantly, they do so on a regional basis. It is worth reminding people, and particularly those on the Government benches, that €5 billion was invested in this country's water supplies between 2000 and 2010.

Ministers tell us that we have a Third World water supply, while they use PR announcements to herald hundreds of jobs in pharmaceutical and food companies. One needs a good, solid water supply to make those kind of jobs announcements and attract such investment.

Yes, we have problems. It is disgraceful what has happened in County Roscommon and in Dublin City. It is unbelievable that a capital city cannot host an event without restricting water supplies. The €5 billion which was sanctioned and spent by the Government was spent by local government.

At the time, local government was in the control of the parties now in government. They made the calls locally. Some of those people, who are now Deputies, might look in the mirror before querying spending on water services. Irish Water is the Minister's baby. It is the Fine Gael Party's policy line and it is the child of the now Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, as outlined in the NewERA document in 2009, long before there was any mention of the troika. It has proceeded exactly as it was set out.

It is desperately unfair. There was some dumping on the former Minister, Phil Hogan, as recently as two hours ago. He messed it up and was oblivious to the concerns of this House, but those now driving the diggers and dumping on him were driving the diggers when they were around the Cabinet table with him and they must share responsibility. For the Tánaiste to say that she made Deputy Alan Kelly Minister to sort it out does not cleanse her of her responsibility.

Yesterday's announcement failed a number of basic tests. It failed on any measure of fairness. How is it that every family, regardless of income, will receive a €100 water conservation grant, regardless of whether they are on the breadline or in the top echelon of earners? It is not so much a water conservation grant as a backbencher conservation grant. It has nothing to do with the conservation of water; it is about the conservation of votes. There is no fairness in any charging system in which families pay the same rate regardless of income, means and circumstance or where single people pay the same rate regardless of income, means, circumstance or age. We have different water needs as we progress. There is no analysis of that aspect. The charging regime has failed the fairness test spectacularly.

The attitude, management and culture of the body that has brought us to this place, Irish Water, has not changed. The board of the parent company might change, but it was interesting to see the CEO of the parent company sent out to defend the baby of the organisation. The organisation is still in place and a new board will not change the culture, style or method of delivery. We must move to a water authority, or an agency similar to the NRA or NTMA, that can borrow and has no need for overstaffing. That body could use the resources and expertise of local authority staff to act on a regional basis.

I have dealt with the supply issue, where there are serious problems, but the investment programme outlined by Irish Water for the next couple of years is not much greater than what was spent between 2000 and 2011. The priorities were made under the old charging system. Some €5 billion from general taxation was spent between 2000 and 2010. If we believe the cheers about the growing economy and growing tax revenues, there is no reason a similar amount of revenue could not come over the next period of investments from Irish Water. The investment is simply not there. Whatever the rate, it is the rate that means the difference for people between having money at the end of the month and not having any. People will not pay for an unreliable service or, in the case of Roscommon, an unclean service. They do not have the money, and we cannot support a system that afflicts another charge on people when there are other choices. Maybe in the future, when investment has been made and proper property management is in place, we can talk about charges, but only for people who abuse the water supply and use water excessively for swimming pools and hoses. Water is a basic requirement.

Some €660 million has been spent by Irish Water, with €500 million spent on a metering contract on which we can get no details and on meters that we must dig up the ground to read. People should be able to read them on a telephone if this is a conservation measure. This should have been done in districts first, with people given the option of a personal meter. A total of €660 million has been spent by Irish Water to date, and not a penny has been spent on pipes, sources of supply or a drop of water. The money has been spent on consultants and metering, and not a drop of water will come from €660 million. That is the incompetence and arrogance we are being asked to support. I will not do it.

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