Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Deputies who contributed to this debate over the past two days.

The Government has listened to the legitimate public concerns about water charges, how Irish Water was established and how it will operate. With this Bill, the Government is responding to those concerns. I welcome Opposition support for some of the proposed changes.

Many Deputies raised the issue of public ownership of water services and infrastructure, an important issue that we debated at length in this House two weeks ago. I reassure Members, yet again, that the Government is absolutely committed to keeping Irish Water in public ownership. There appears to be absolute cross-party consensus on this issue.

Water is an essential resource for the people and the economy. The Government is ensuring any change in ownership from public to private could only happen with the approval of the people. The provision of water services on a national basis requires the development and maintenance of a substantial asset base of network pipes, treatment plants, reservoirs, land and other components that need significant and sustained investment. For this reason, it is vital that we retain public ownership of Irish Water.

A number of Deputies have referred to the metering programme and questioned its value. The case for domestic metering is indisputable. It facilitates usage-based water charges which many organisations, not least the OECD, have stated is the fairest form of water charges. Domestic metering is instrumental in reducing water usage. International evidence suggests the reduction in consumption can be as high as 10% to 15% through the use of meters. Between 1996 and 2007 in Denmark, for example, there was a 12.6% reduction in household consumption through the introduction of water meters and volumetric water charges. The presence of domestic meters is playing a crucial role in identifying customer-side leakage which is estimated to account for approximately 10% of national leakage. The metering programme will help Irish Water to implement the Government-funded first-fix scheme effectively.

A number of Deputies have argued that instead of investing in metering it would be preferable to invest in mains rehabilitation. While such a strategy would result in leakage reduction, it would not have the advantages of the metering proposals. These are the underpinning of a fair charging system and ensuring sustained reduction in customer-side leakage or usage which help to manage overall production more effectively. A combined approach is required which tackles both customer-side leakage and mains rehabilitation in order to achieve the best outcomes.

People should not be deceived by claims that leaks are not being fixed. They are being fixed, with €171 million allocated for water conservation projects as part of the utility's 2014-16 capital investment plan. These works involve repairing leaks across a water supply network audited through the fact finding exercise conducted by local authorities during the water sector reform programme. Metering is also helping to reduce leakage. Yesterday the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, highlighted the fact that 22 households in Ireland had been identified as leaking a total of over 1 million litres a day into driveways. This is enough to service a town the size of Dungarvan in my home county. We would not have known about these leaks but for the metering programme; therefore, the issue of leakage is being tackled.

The establishment of Irish Water will allow for the company to borrow money off balance sheet and reinvest in upgrading a system that is leaking 50% of its treated water into the ground. I know from my previous experience in working for a national utility - ESB Networks - a company which undertook to renew its entire network at a cost of €7 billion - that this was done off-balance sheet at no cost to the Exchequer; therefore, we are not reinventing the wheel. The very same principle will apply to Irish Water. If we get rid of customer billing, this investment will have to be made from borrowings on balance sheet which will simply mean higher taxes or sustained cuts to vital services. The asset management system developed by Irish Water will, for the first time, capture all of the assets which are critical to an efficient national water utility and manage them in a sustainable and efficient way. This is critical for asset management in any national utility.

The issue of the proposed water conservation grant arose as a result of the Government review of the charging system two weeks ago. In the past Deputies from all parties have spoken about their support for the use of rainwater harvesting and other measures to reduce water usage. I hope all sides can recognise that the proposed payment will help households to purchase conservation equipment and devices which will assist them in reducing their water consumption. That is the intention. It is not just households using public water supplies that will benefit from this conservation grant, households with private supplies that respond to Irish Water's customer application campaign will also benefit. The importance of maintaining water quality in private wells was highlighted again this week in media coverage of the EPA's evidence that one third of the 170,000 private wells in Ireland were contaminated with E.coli and that 10 % could be infected with the highly dangerous bacteria VTEC. I urge all households which receive the water conservation grant to invest the payment in sustainable and safe water usage.

I must, once again, highlight the hypocrisy of the Opposition's stance on Irish Water. Only a few short weeks ago, Sinn Féin was in favour of paying water charges, but it was then outflanked on the far left in the Dublin South West by-election and changed its position. Its position becomes even more unsustainable when in the North where it is in government water charges are to be introduced in 2016. Water meters are being installed across Northern Ireland, with 35,000 installed to date, yet Sinn Féin criticises the Government for doing something similar here. In fact, the UK energy regulator states the cost of providing water for each domestic household in Northern Ireland is £412 per year. An independent water review panel estimated that households in the North were contributing towards their water charges to the tune of £160 per annum through their rates bills. This is more than any household will have to pay in the Republic of Ireland.

Fianna Fáil's position on water charges is simply not credible. In its national recovery plan, on pages 77 and 78, it proposed a €400 flat water charge for every household, with these charges to begin prior to 2014. As a result of its economic mismanagement, it handed the keys of the country to the troika and signed up the country to water charges by 2012 or, at the very latest, 2013. To copperfasten its position on water charges, in its general election campaign manifesto, its leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, stated, "We wrote the Plan. We believe In the Plan. We are the party best placed to implement it." Since entering opposition, Fianna Fáil now takes the populist position of calling for water charges to be suspended and Irish Water to be abolished.

I refer to the socialists and the "Let's not pay for anything" group. I caution the general public in listening to these populist politicians. These are the same representatives who charged people to enter public meetings in my constituency to oppose the household charge and the property tax. They charged people €5, offered them the best legal advice and said they would not have to pay, but I ask where were they when the charges and penalties were then applied.

See this speech in context