Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The first thing to discuss in relation to water is its quality. The sad reality in Roscommon for the past few years has been that water quality has been disgraceful. We now see the problem extending to places like Williamstown. We hear Irish Water tell us that this, that and the other is being done, but sadly some of the objectives it says it will reach are unrealistic.

Only yesterday, I received an email from Irish Water on a scheme in Williamstown on the Roscommon-Galway border which referred to taking water from Lough Mask. Notwithstanding the need to get EIAs and appropriate assessments and put everything in place, I have been told the project will be delivered some time in 2016. Let us be honest with people that this is an unrealistic target. The National Parks and Wildlife Service is always crowing about how a particular town has one of the best lakes in Europe. It is a so-called "SAC" but raw sewage is going into it. If someone cuts a few sods of turf up the road, he or she is a criminal, but it is acceptable for the Government and local authorities to allow raw sewage into a lake. Ordinary people are being trampled on once again.

I would always have said that oversight was required nationally to ensure that all local authorities worked together to provide a quality system. However, I have a problem with Irish Water. What should have been done was that good directors of services from around the country should have been put together to spearhead this new set up. There are some great people who have delivered quality water in different counties. People from the likes of the water federation should have been involved. Right around the country, group water schemes have produced the finest quality water, often on a voluntary basis. I am damn sure they could show people how it should be done.

As a person who is involved in a group water scheme, I have been open about meters. Sadly, the meter is the flash point in the argument at the moment. We put in meters and went from 980 cubic litres per week down to 470 cubic litres. The conservation value was phenomenal. Sadly, the meters are put in but while we started off talking about conservation, whether one uses 1 gallon or 10 million gallons, it is the same thing. That does not give people the idea that we are talking about conservation. Rainwater harvesting should have been promoted for both the farming community and in towns. An incentive should have been introduced as it is a no-brainer to get people to use the large amount of water we get from the sky. We should encourage people to do that.

When one installs meters, the number of leaks one can fix is unbelievable. We have proved it in our own scheme. We should have concentrated on this at the beginning of solving the major problem with water. When one considers the number of houses that will be supposedly built in Dublin in the next four or five years and the increase in industry, it appears the city will be low on water in 2017 or 2018. We have not put in the foundations or done the work on planning to put in place structures yet there is a problem coming down the line. There is talk of getting water from the River Shannon and Lough Derg. That will be a problem given the number of designations in the west. What seems to happen in the west is that everything is designated and our resources are taken away.

I have looked into the matter of the plebiscite. I am a firm believer that we need a referendum and to put this in our Constitution. I am not at all saying this Government will privatise Irish Water, but some time down the road somebody may overrule what this Government did. I have looked into the legality of the plebiscite and, to be frank, it will not stand up. Anyone who is selling that is selling people an untruth. One must bring people with one no matter what one does in life. The whole strategy in this case has been rushed from beginning to end. Irish Water has started to run before it learned to crawl.

Governments have a major problem when people turn against them. The Government should rethink the structure of Irish Water because perception is very important. When people leave companies with large pensions to take up new positions with large salaries it does not give ordinary people who struggle to meet their mortgage payments and live from one day to the next much hope of a new vision for Ireland.

I am also concerned about group water schemes. As I stated, with the help of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, these schemes have produced the finest water. Things are going well but there is a fear that in one, two or three years some senior civil servant will decide to remove the €100 household grant from members of group water schemes. While it is understandable that the Government will deny this possibility, the reality is that there are no free dinners. I hope nobody will try to tear the heart and fabric out of the group water schemes because any such attempts will be resisted tenaciously.

Businesses and farmers either belong to a group water scheme or receive water from public supplies provided by local authorities. I note from the documentation that the regulator will assume responsibility in September 2015, at which point decisions will be taken on a new vision for water and water pricing structures for farmers and businesses. My group water scheme is proud to be able to produce water at 55 cent per cubic metre, whereas local authorities charge €1.30 per cubic metre. We do not want more jobs to be lost. The prices charged for water must not be increased for businesses or farmers as they are on their knees. If the regulator increases prices, problems will increase.

Anyone can make a mistake. I ask the Government to take a step back and rethink its entire water strategy for the betterment of the economy, country and, above all, people.

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