Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to put on record that I support the introduction of water charges. I campaigned back in 2011 for a mandate from the people to be elected and in that manifesto with which my party went to the people, we stated we would introduce water charges if elected to Government. I am certainly not in favour of rowing back on that commitment because I believe it is the right thing to do. I believe the vast majority of the people I represent believe that water charges are just and necessary in any modern society and that there is nothing so unique about Ireland that we could continue in fantasy land as the only country in the OECD that does not charge for water and yet spend €1.2 billion per year providing it to every household.

I think Irish Water is a good news story. I believe in Irish Water and I believe that it will prove itself over the test of time. This is not out of some blind allegiance or loyalty to the institution that is Irish Water or indeed the party of which I am a member, which has been involved in setting up Irish Water. This year alone, there will be a saving of €300 million in the provision of water to Irish homes. Last year, it cost €1.2 billion to provide water to every household in Ireland. This year, under Irish Water, it will cost €899 million. That is a saving of €300 million. The taxpayer - the working person - is the winner in all of this. They will not have to fund that additional figure of €300 million. I welcome that and am very grateful for it on behalf of the hard-pressed working person who is beaten to the ground paying taxes.

In addition, there are 42 areas in this State with raw sewage being pumped into their rivers. This is not acceptable in this day and age and would have continued and worsened under the old regime so drastic action was required. I look forward to the people of Roscommon drinking their water in a few short weeks after 12 years of having to boil it.

I apologise unreservedly for the communications deficit that has been there over the past weeks and months on the part of the Government of which I am a member. I think my political masters let us all down when they failed to communicate with the people at the level the people required and deserved. It was not just a communications deficit on the part of the political system. In tandem with that, the people at the head of Irish Water should have come out and done a better job in communicating the facts. In that vacuum, the media and several fringe elements created hysteria and many untruths such as the argument that people will pay twice for water. People will not be paying twice for water. Who paid the €1.2 billion it cost to provide water to Irish homes for the past six or seven years? The troika paid it. The taxpayer is not paying twice for the provision of water. That argument is nonsense. Somebody will have to pay for it. This year, we are going to borrow €5 billion but we cannot continue to borrow money to fund the basic and most necessary services in the State.

People need to stand up and communicate. I do not blame those who took to the streets because there was a vacuum and people were justifiably angry about the lack of information we as political leaders and those at the head of Irish Water had a moral obligation to share. We failed miserably in that regard and that is why were are in the current situation.

The political system needs to man up and recognise what is happening in Irish society. A steep divide between left and right is emerging among the people. The political system is not catching up fast enough to recognise what the people want. The public want to know the side on which we stand. The day of politicians staying safe and sitting on the fence has gone. That is driving people crazy. There is a stark left and a stark right. People want to know where we stand and who we represent. It was possible to find €100 million to satisfy the demands of that protest. Even though the charges were higher, I believe the protest was primarily the result of lack of communication and fabrication of untruths. The people I represent, who are hard-pressed taxpayers struggling with massive USC and tax bills, would have preferred that money to be invested in the fair deal scheme to eliminate the waiting list for nursing homes, which is costing the taxpayer a fortune.

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