Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed that the amendment I tabled, amendment No. 2, was ruled out of order. There is considerable concern out there about the possible intentions of the Government or a future Government towards water services, and the Minister, Deputy Kelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, need to take this on board.

There is an amendment here from Deputy Naughten in relation to the word "shall". According to the proposal of the Minister, it would require a resolution of the Dáil to hold a plebiscite, but all the Bill states is that the Government or a future Government "may" do so, and that raises considerable concerns. The intention of my amendment was to put this in the hands of the people and not to trust the Government or any future Government on this matter. The intention was to put a clause in the Constitution.

I am also disappointed that we simply get a message of six or seven words stating "The following amendments have been ruled out of order". We do not get any explanation as to why that happens. I find that difficult. We put the work into submitting amendments to shape legislation and have an input, and that is the level of response. The Government, in its weak-kneed and weak-willed response of trying to placate the public - or satisfy half of the public and dampen down the Opposition - then comes along with a weak Bill stating that a future Government may, if it so decides, hold a plebiscite. I fully support Deputy Naughten's amendment in that regard.

I also support Deputy Catherine Murphy's amendment. While it is not the one that I would favour as my first choice, as I stated, I would favour a constitutional amendment to put the decision into the hands of the people. Recognising that we are where we are, it is a step in the right direction to insert the phrase "of not fewer than two thirds of the Members" to ensure that Irish Water cannot not be sold off without the agreement of two thirds of the Members of the Dáil, and it certainly makes it that bit more difficult for a future Government.

In reading the Bill and studying how these amendments are being handled, my worst fears are being deepened. I am very concerned about the Bill that has been introduced. There will be a number of problems with it. It adds further to the mess around Irish Water-Uisce Éireann and water services. We have been going down the wrong road since 1 January this year, when we transferred this out of the hands of the 31 local authorities. I heard both the Minister and the Minister of State say that we could not continue with a situation in which water services began and stopped at county boundaries. That was never the case. I live in a county that is surrounded by other counties, and there has been co-operation with all of those counties in the provision of water services. It is uncomplicated. The way it is done is simple. There is co-operation with Carlow, Offaly and the other counties.

I am disappointed about the way this has been handled. I support the amendments to which I referred, which try to make the best of a bad situation, but I am extremely disappointed that the Sinn Féin amendment to put a provision into the Constitution - effectively, to put the decision into the hands of the people now and forever - has been disallowed.

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