Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mar a luaigh ceann de na Teachtaí eile níos luaithe, is ait an díospóireacht seo. Bhí sé anseo den chuid is mó den díospóireacht inniu agus bhí mise ag féachtaint ar an díospóireacht inné. De ghnáth, nuair a bhíonn díospóireacht ar siúl, téann sé sall is anall. Is ait liomsa é nach bhfuil aon duine ar taobh an Rialtais anseo ar maidin chun páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht. Glacaim go mbíonn siad anseo chun éisteacht nuair a bhíonn Aire anseo agus is maith an rud é sin.

Is ait an rud é nár tháinig aon chúlbhinseoir nó aon Aire eile isteach anseo chun míniú a thabhairt dúinn ar an bhfáth gur chóir go mbeadh na táillí uisce seo curtha anuas ar ghnáthphobal na tíre seo. Go bhfios dom, níl aon duine acu liostaithe le haghaidh fuílleach na díospóireachta chun an fáth gur ghlac siad an rogha gur fearr leo táillí uisce ná cáin maoine a leagadh amach. Níl siad anseo chun míniú a thabhairt dúinn ar an bhfáth gur cheart dúinn íoc trí huaire as an rud ceanann céanna, seachas uair amháin tríd an ghnáthchóras cánach, mar atá á dhéanamh againn cheana féin, leis an mótarcháin anuas ar sin.

Níl sa díospóireacht seo ach charade. An uair dheireanach a raibh an Teach seo ag déileáil le reachtaíocht a bhain le hUisce Éireann, cuireadh gilitín ar an díospóireacht. Bhí uafás an phobail i gcoitinne i gcoinne an méid a dhein an Rialtais ag an ócáid sin. Dá bhrí sin, shocraigh an Rialtas gan a leithéid a dhéanamh arís agus an chleasaíocht seo a imirt ina háit. Dúradh leis na cúlbhinseoirí gan teacht isteach anseo chun an méid atá sa reachtaíocht seo a chosaint. Measaim nach mbeidís in ann cosaint a dhéanamh ar an mBille. Dá mbeadh orthu filleadh ar a ndáilcheantair tar éis dóibh labhairt istigh anseo, bheadh eagla orthu go mbeadh an t-eolas sin ag an bpobal go háitiúil agus go dtabharfadh daoine freagra dóibh ina leith. Ceapann na cúlbhinseoirí go mbeidh siad in ann an cnaipe a bhrú Dé Máirt seo chugainn chun tacaíocht a thabhairt don Bhille seo, agus do na táilí uisce, gan tuiscint ar bith a bheith ag an ngnáthphobal ar an méid atá déanta acu. Ní féidir an dallamullóg a chur ar an bpobal a thuilleadh. Níl siad tiubh. Tuigeann siad go maith an píosa cleasaíochta atá i gceist maidir leis an méid atá sa Bhille seo i dtaobh na táillí uisce, go háirithe an masla do ghnáthphobal na tíre seo atá sa dheontas caomhnaithe uisce. Níl aon rud sa Bhille seo a bhaineann le caomhnú uisce.

Tá a mhalairt de threo ann. Is féidir infheistiú ceart a dhéanamh. Dá mbeadh an t-airgead a bhí ar fáil, agus atá anois á chur ar strae, curtha isteach sa chóras - dá mbeadh infheistiú ceart déanta go dtí seo - bheimid i bhfad níos faide síos an bóthar chun fadhbanna an chórais a leigheas go hiomlán. B'fhéidir go mbeadh na poill atá sa chóras deisithe agus go mbeadh córas séarachais ceart againn timpeall na tíre. Seachas a leithéid a dhéanamh, tá an Rialtas tar éis airgead a chur amú - is é sin díreach é - trí chomhlacht a bhunú. Caitheadh airgead ar Uisce Éireann a bhunú cé go raibh na húdaráis áitiúla go huile agus go hiomlán in ann déileáil leis na fadhbanna. Dhiúltaigh an Rialtas seo agus na Rialtais roimhe, go háirithe na Rialtais le 20 bliain anuas, an t-airgead cuí a thabhairt do na húdaráis áitiúla chun an infheistiú ceart a dhéanamh.

Glacaim leis nach féidir an fhadhb seo a leigheas thar oíche. Ní féidir na fadhbanna sa chóras a leigheas gan infheistiú ceart. Má tá gnáthcháiníocóirí an Stáit ag íoc airgid leis an Rialtas fá choinne an chórais uisce, ba chóir go mbeadh an t-airgead sin caite ar an gcóras úd, seachas ar chomhlacht nua a bhunú agus consultants, srl., a íoc. Ní cheart go mbeadh níos mó ná €500 milliún caite ar méadair uisce a chur isteach. Bheimid níos fearr as an t-airgead sin a chaitheamh ar na píobáin uisce agus ar an gcóras séarachais. Tá an Rialtas ag iarraidh an dallamullóg a chur ar dhaoine sa chomhthéacs seo. Tá lucht an Rialtais ag iarraidh a rá go mbeidh sé ar fad críochnaithe agus go mbeidh gach rud i gceart faoin bhliain 2018. Ní mar sin a bheidh in aon chor. Is léir ó na figiúirí gur a mhalairt a tharlóidh. Ní bheidh aon leigheas ar fhadhbanna an chórais uisce sa Stát seo faoin am sin. Tá an t-airgead curtha amú agus ar strae. Impím ar an Rialtas - go háirithe ar na cúlbhinseoirí nach bhfuil sásta teacht isteach sa Dáil inniu agus na pointí atá acu a chur transa, ionas go mbeadh díospóireacht cheart againn - tarraingt siar arís ón gcleasaíocht atá ar bun acu.

Bhí mé ag éisteacht leis an méid a bhí le rá ag an iar-Aire Stáit, an Teachta O'Dowd. Is ait liom cé chomh ionraic atá sé anois, toisc go bhfuil sé ar na cúlbhinsí. Dá mbeadh sé ag craobhscaoileadh go díreach ag an am cad a bhí ag tarlú dó, faoi mar atá á dhéanamh aige anois, b'fhéidir nach mbeadh an Rialtas agus na cúlbhinseoirí tar éis aon tacaíocht a thabhairt don chaimiléireacht atá i gceist maidir le Uisce Éireann agus an bealach a bunaíodh é ó thús báire. Is trua é nach raibh a leithéid le rá aige. Is trua é freisin nach raibh daoine sa Státseirbhís nó an Chomh-aireacht sásta éisteacht cheart a thabhairt dó. In ainneoin sin, ní aontaím le gach rud a bhí le rá leis an Teachta O'Dowd. Thóg sé isteach na táillí uisce agus ní chóir go mbeadh siad againn.

Fianna Fáil was the first party to commit to the introduction of water charges in terms of the proposal in its so-called programme for national recovery document of 2007 to levy €500 million from water charges. The introduction of water charges is not then all the fault of the current Government, of which Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, is a member. Some of the work was already in train when it took over. However, this Government has gone further, despite commitments from the Labour Party to the public that water charges would not be introduced. I could quote in that regard remarks by the previous Labour Party leader. Perhaps the reason he was jettisoned is because his statements on the investment in Irish Water and water charges would come back to haunt the Labour Party.

From the outset, Sinn Féin opposed the creation of Irish Water. It also offered credible alternatives. As I said as Gaeilge, when former Minister of State, Fergus O'Dowd, used public money to employ PricewaterhouseCoopers to produce a report that led to the creation of Irish Water, Sinn Féin was the only party to make submissions to that consultation. It is a pity Deputy O'Dowd was not as forthcoming when Minister of State as he is now about the goings-on in that regard. Perhaps that has something to do with internal party politics. It is refreshing that he is so forthcoming now. Had Deputy O'Dowd, when Minister of State, been so forthcoming at the time of the guillotined debate on the set up of Irish Water I can guarantee many more questions would have been raised . I believe also that some Labour Party backbenchers would not have been happy if they had heard then what he said yesterday on this matter.

Sinn Féin's track record on the opposition to water charges has been unrivalled and is resolute. The Sinn Féin Minister with responsibility in the Assembly for water successfully stopped domestic charges being introduced despite attempts by the British Government to make the party back down. Sinn Féin stood firm in the North and will do the same here. We will continue until the whole of Ireland remains water charges free. It is not that Sinn Féin does not believe that water should not be paid for. It is already paid for through general taxation, which is the progressive way of taxing.

There are three myths that need to be put to bed once and for all. The first myth is that we need to charge people for water. People are already paying for water through their taxes, which are collected by Revenue. The Revenue Commissioners should be called to appear before the environment committee to set out how much in taxes it received each year for the past number of years and what portion of it was meant to be ring-fenced to pay for local government services, which included water services until this Government moved it to Irish Water.

The second myth is that charges are about conservation. Previous speakers referred to the insult to the Irish people of calling what is proposed a water conservation measure. The English language has been bastardised quite often but that is a beauty. If nothing else, it will stand to Government members in the next general election, at which time they will be destroyed. The third myth is that everybody else in Europe pays water charges.

They do not. The Minister of State need only go 60 miles up the road. Northern Ireland is part of Europe and, although he might not think so, it is part of Ireland. It is just a different jurisdiction. The people there do not pay water charges.

Sinn Féin believes the people have a right to domestic water of the highest international standard and that it should be funded through a progressively reformed tax system under which those who earn the most pay most. That includes a wealth tax which can raise money from those with wealth, who are at the moment increasing their wealth. As this State begins to recover, the wealth in our society will become concentrated among the few, as it has always been. Flat charges are always regressive because they have a disproportionate negative effect on households with lower incomes. We are committed to overturning this unfair and unjust water charge. We are an integral part of the Right2Water campaign, which is a coalition of groups, several trade unions, Mandate, the Civil Public and Services Union, CPSU, the Communications Workers' Union, CWU, the Plasterers' Union of Ireland, the Dublin Council of Trade Unions, the Socialist Party, several Independent Deputies and a range of community groups, organisations and local campaigns. The Right2Water campaign has been successful in mobilising hundreds of thousands of people in opposition to the Government’s water charges. We expect tens of thousands to be on the streets again next Wednesday and over several months until the water charge is scrapped.

The Right2Water campaign recognises that water is a human right and is committed to the scrapping of the water charges. Any group, trade union or political party that supports this is welcome to join the campaign. I welcome the recent statement issued by SIPTU that it will work with groups in the Right2Water campaign. I hope SIPTU will join the campaign. I cannot see why it has not. Maybe some of the contradictions involved in running the union while being at the head of the Labour Party make that difficult. SIPTU should listen to its members and fully commit to the Right2Water campaign. The same applies to the other unions and groupings which have not bought into it. The stronger and more united we are, the more likely this charge will be defeated, as it was before.

Sinn Féin is also committed to shutting down Irish Water. The Government has brought us to the perverse situation in which people are being asked to pay for water three times: through motor tax and general taxation - we recall what happened when household rates were scrapped in 1977 - and through the millions of euro spent on establishing Irish Water, and then for the water itself. Not a penny more should be spent on Irish Water or on installing domestic water meters. The Minister should scrap it. That money would be much better spent removing lead pipes that are bursting all over the place than putting in meters that interfere with the water system and do not, under the legislation, conserve water. Capital spending needs to have a lasting positive impact. Domestic water meters will not.

The Government needs to replace the leaking Victorian infrastructure. I have often raised the question of the Vartry Tunnel in this Chamber. That could have been fixed with a very small portion of what has been spent on water meters. The Vartry Tunnel is the link the brings one quarter if not one third of the water that comes into Dublin every day. If it collapses - and it could at any stage, as the local authorities have told this and previous Governments - one third of the water system will go overnight and will not be replaced for several months, if not years.

The Government has tried to say Irish Water will address the leaking pipes. Irish Water's capital investment plan for maintenance for the next three years is €150 million. For the past few years, investment has averaged €40 million. Irish Water has not made a huge increase in investment in fixing the leaks in our system, but if the money being spent on meters was diverted, the Government could quadruple the amount that could be spent to €125 million a year. That would be real conservation, addressing the problem and making sure that treated water goes to the houses that need it rather than into a hole. By investing in meters, consultants and an entity that should be scrapped, the Government is wasting taxpayers’ money. That needs to stop now, and the money needs to be invested in the leaking system and waste treatment plants so that raw sewage does not go into Irish seas.

It is totally illogical that the Labour Party is fully behind this. The Labour Party prided itself for many years on being the protector of, or spokesperson for, the working class. When the Government imposes another regressive tax on the working class, it is not speaking for the working class but opposing it, and it will get its message come the next general election.

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