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

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate again. Yesterday's huge protest showed that people are not going to be browbeaten on this issue. Irish people understand the power of the boycott and of feet on the street.

Section 2(1)(b) of this Bill is nothing less than a total act of deception by the Labour Party and Fine Gael. Regardless of whether people agree with paying for water for a third time, through the water charges that are being proposed, I have not met anybody anywhere - not a single constituent - who does not want water services to be kept in public ownership. Fine Gael has got that message. People want water services to be kept in public ownership. We were told the Minister would put in place a measure to this effect. The Labour Party disgracefully voted against a Bill I introduced in this House two weeks ago, which would have provided constitutional protection in this regard. I offered some simple suggestions about how this could be done. Given that the Government intends to hold a number of referendums next year - we will be supporting some of them - it could have put my proposal to the people on the same day. I suggest it would have been carried by the people. I proposed that we should provide in the Constitution that water services could not be privatised and would be in public ownership forever, unless the Irish people decided to change the Constitution again to provide for privatisation, which is not something I believe they would ever do. The Government failed to accept my proposal. It is a disgrace that the Labour Party voted against it.

I tabled an amendment to this Bill to try to provide for constitutional protection in this regard, but it was ruled out of order. I have received no explanation for that. Other Deputies have tabled similar amendments. Amendment No. 6, in the name of Deputy Naughten, would have proposed that the section of this Bill stating that any attempt to provide for privatisation "may" be put to the people in a referendum should be changed to provide that this "shall" be done. He told me he has received no explanation for the decision to rule that amendment out of order. Another amendment that is before the House proposes that the approval of each local authority municipal district would have to be sought before privatisation could take place. This provision would offer some level of protection because Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party, Sinn Féin and Independent local authority members would not dare to support such a measure. Local councillors on the ground are closer to the people. They do not live in a bubble. They have to face the people every day. They would not dare to support privatisation.

The former Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, has spoken in this House about the manner in which draft versions of a previous water services Bill were handled. He said that protections in terms of privatisation were removed from drafts of the Bill when they were presented to him, even though he had been told that such protections would be included.

Deputies have spoken this morning about the lobbying and potential power of the bureaucrats, the troika and the rest of the dead weight on top of us. Perhaps the hand in all of this is closer to home. Perhaps people in board rooms are influencing officials to change documents and trying to prevent words like "may" being turned into "shall", but such a protection would be a simple way of ensuring that Irish Water could not be privatised. The Labour Party should stand up and the Minister, as its deputy leader, should do the right thing. People on the street, regardless of whether they march or are for charges, want Irish Water to be kept in public ownership. Amendment No. 5 provides some level of protection. The Government needs to accept it. Not accepting it would be a betrayal by the Labour Party.

Section 5 is an act of deception. The Irish people want water kept in public ownership. They want this protection. The Government should give control back to them. Do not give it to others today.

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