Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As a Government we have accepted that mistakes were made in setting up this major public utility. The timeline involved was very ambitious and any public utility of this magnitude would require a seven to ten year lead-in period. We wanted to do it over three years and found it very difficult to do so. We have put our hands up and the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, has admitted that mistakes were made. He has put on the record of the House the way in which we are addressing the serious concerns raised.

We are listening. The people we serve have spoken out in large numbers in recent times about the problems they have with Irish Water. We have heard them and are acting. The people who elect us have said they could not afford the charges for water previously referenced. We now have an affordable and capped charge. As many of my colleagues on this side of the House have said, which is worth repeating, the maximum any household who registers with Irish Water will pay will be €3 a week, or €1.17 a week for single people, until 2019. Households who manage their consumption and conserve water will be able to lower the charge even further. The chief executive of Ervia, the parent company of Irish Water, said this morning that about 35% of customers could beat the cap, even at this stage, with their current levels of consumption.

Not only will this project save consumers money, it is also a powerful conservation tool to help us save what is a precious and vital resource. I am pleased that the water conservation grant of €100 per year will be available to all households who register with Irish Water, including those on group water schemes. This measure is fair and will allow people who have been paying for their water for years to avail of the same grants as everybody else. The new capped charges are, objectively, affordable and give certainty to households. We all now know that the maximum we will pay for water until the beginning of 2019 will be €3 a week for houses with two or more adults or €1.15 for single adult households.

Many families in the country, and in my constituency, are still struggling to meet day-to-day costs, pay mortgages, heating bills, rent and electricity bills and to put food on the table and books in their children's schoolbags. Family budgeting is a major part of ensuring they have enough to stretch to the end of every month. Now we have certainty on the costs for the next four years, which is important for larger households or those with higher water usage due to certain medical needs. We should also bear in mind the changes made in budget 2015 by the Minister, Deputy Noonan, the Minister, Deputy Howlin, and the Tánaiste, Deputy Burton. I appreciate that it may be difficult for families to take into account something they may not yet have felt in their pockets, but these changes will begin shortly and will mean that all Irish families will be better off next year.

We will shortly see the part restoration of the Christmas bonus for those on long-term social welfare payments. Child benefit will increase by €5 per child in January. Thousands more people will be exempt from the universal social charge and those on the higher rate of tax will see a 1% cut. It should be remembered that the higher rate of tax kicks in at a relatively low rate, just over €30,000, people who are not objectively wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. Even when charges take effect, Irish families will be better off than they were last year.

A single worker on average earnings is due to gain almost €8 per week as a result of budget changes.

There are now only two capped charges for primary residences. Irish Water will now seek far less information from households on registration and has made it clear, as did the Minister yesterday, that PPS numbers will no longer be required. If people have already provided their PPS details, that data will be deleted in a process agreed in consultation with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. I should point out that there are easy ways to pay for water, through a wide range of options including at post offices and at retail outlets with a PayPoint or Payzone sign. This will allow people pay by instalments and ensure they can budget to meet their bills. It is shocking that up to 50% of our treated water is currently leaking away. The only way we can find out which supplies to houses are leaking is through water meters. Metering helps us to understand how we consume water and will allow us to plan for the future.

I want to address the issue of the protests that are preventing workers tasked with installing water meters from doing their jobs. I respect the right of every citizen in this republic to protest, but much like the scenes that disturbed so many of us last Saturday when the Tánaiste was effectively held hostage in her car and when many other peaceful people associated with the An Cosán centre endured despicable taunts and threats, some of the protests against workers installing meters across this country have crossed the line. Workers who are trying to earn a living are being prevented from doing their work by small numbers of extremely hostile protesters. This is not how democracy should work. I call on all of those involved in the anti Irish Water campaign, the politicians on the hard left on the other side of the House who have left the Chamber in the past few minutes and on genuine trade unionists to condemn these anti-worker protests. If they have any leadership capacity whatsoever, they should call a halt to any protest which prevents working people from doing their jobs.

I find it interesting that these self same politicians have had little to say about my or the Labour Party agenda on the dignity of work issue or on examining issues relating to low pay, to zero hour contracts and precarious working conditions. They are too busy using their megaphones than to show genuine care for workers' rights or what really matters to working people, such as job creation, economic development, social progress and genuine fairness. They are utterly silent on these key issues, but we will see again the grand old duke of York syndrome consume these people. They will march people up to the top of the hill and then do what they have always done - leave them there exposed and alone.

It is worth noting that Sinn Féin's supposed victory on preventing water charges north of the Border rings hollow. The Sinn Féin website acknowledges that Northern Ireland Water has sent out letters to Belfast residents requesting information and informing them that they will receive a bill for water. That statement was recorded on Sinn Féin's website on 6 November.

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