Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Government has listened to the people. The package announced in this Chamber yesterday brings simplicity, certainty and affordability to every family and individual in Ireland. At a net cost of €60 per year for a single occupancy house and €160 for every other house, the water charge will be 16 cent per day for a single person and 44 cent per day for a family, far less than one would pay for a bottle of water in a supermarket or corner shop. The package also ensures that there will be easy-pay options in place for those who genuinely have difficulty paying the charges, which are among the lowest in Europe.

I believe people will accept that this affordable package represents a fair and reasonable approach - I will come back to the reasonable point in a moment if I have a chance - at addressing the undeniable need to invest in our poor and deteriorating water and sewage infrastructure. Whatever way we do it, only the people will provide that investment. No one else will do it for us. I am equally confident that, at the appropriate time, EUROSTAT, will confirm that we have met the EU's market corporation test which will keep Irish Water investment separate from the Exchequer figures. Among other things, yesterday's package was designed to do precisely this. The Government is fully confident that with just 44% of the company's subvention coming from the Exchequer it will comfortably clear the bar, which is set at 50%.

Another significant element of the package is the improved governance arrangements for Irish Water and its parent company, Ervia. The current board of Irish Water is being stood down at the end of this month. In its place we will establish an overarching non-executive board with responsibility for the performance of the Ervia group, including Irish Water and another public utility, Gas Networks Ireland. This will establish better corporate governance with clear responsibilities and lines of accountability. Irish Water and Gas Networks Ireland will be subject to control and oversight by the Ervia board. Irish Water and Gas Networks Ireland will each have a four person executive board that will report to the overarching Ervia non-executive board. Today, the Public Appointments Service initiated a process using stateboards.ieto seek applications from suitable candidates to fill four vacancies on the Ervia board. NewERA will lend its expertise to the recruitment process in line with the new arrangements for appointments to state boards agreed by Government in September.

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, announced in the Dáil yesterday the intention of the Government to amend the legislation to extend the membership of the Ervia board from nine to 11 people. This will mean we will have a full complement of six vacancies, with two additional vacancies on top of the four now advertised. The new process for appointments to State boards requires interested applicants to meet clear appointment criteria, which will be in the public domain. Applicants will be required to submit an application form and a detailed curriculum vitae together with a completed competency questionnaire and a covering letter. The Public Appointments Service will assess and short-list those applications. Thereafter, NewERA will consider the short-listed applicants and will take account of its advice before making final appointments.

This Public Appointments Service and NewERA process will strengthen the Ervia board, which will include members with proven experience in water services and energy infrastructure at a senior level along with expertise and high-level experience in areas such as corporate governance, leadership, transformational change, finance and law. Other changes within the group will combine to create economies of scale and synergies between Irish Water and Gas Networks Ireland, including common approaches to major projects and shared services efficiencies. These changes, particularly the new single non-executive Ervia board, will ensure a firm focus on making Irish Water fit for present and future purposes. The changes will strengthen cohesion within the group and will remove the potential for ambiguity in the decision-making process. As a result, it will be able to deliver on the Government's package of Irish Water measures announced yesterday.

I had an opportunity to listen to much of the debate, which has been interesting and often insightful. I heard Deputy Paul Murphy some minutes ago making an attempt to defend himself and demonstrate to the House that he is indeed a reasonable person, despite all of the suggestions - upsetting for him - that he is otherwise. I wonder about the grip on reality of an individual who thinks that trapping someone in her car for 12 hours is a peaceful protest. What kind of reasonableness does that demonstrate?

Deputy Murphy and his colleagues are right when they say that people have a right to protest. Deputy Higgins let the cat out of the bag, as reported in this morning's newspapers, when he said it has nothing to do with the affordability of water or the charges. Deputy Murphy said on the radio that even if it was 1 cent per family per year he would still demonstrate against it. That is fine, but the ground is now clear in respect of the debate. It is now about whether we have water charges. It is not about the affordability question because that has been dealt with.

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