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

My amendment No. 11 was ruled out of order which is very frustrating. The people think we have the right to amend legislation in the House on their behalf but amendment after amendment is ruled out of order, which is very frustrating for us.

Section 3, which deals with charges, is the centrepiece of this Bill. The Government has back-pedalled several times on this. The justification for this is capital investment. Through the “noughties” approximately €400 million was spent per year on capital investment from central government but there was also substantial investment by local authority development levies. Some county councils did good work which has not been mentioned here at all. It is as if the local authorities never existed. Some used those development levies very well to upgrade and to part contribute to the upgrade of sewage treatment plants, water mains and other infrastructure. The Department told many local authorities to get involved in public private partnerships, PPPs. They were told if they wanted a sewage treatment plant or water source it had to be done by design build and operate, DBO. Local authorities were strapped into these DBOs and predicted they would have to be paid for through charges somewhere down the line. There is a legacy issue that was forced on local authorities against their wills in every county. I met with union representatives on this issue this morning.

On the charges, the Government has back-pedalled so quickly that it is in danger of toppling over or falling to one side. It has climbed down several times but the latest is the biggest climbdown because while it is willing to charge €160 for a single person household and €260 for a two-adult household, it will give them back €100 out of the tax taken from them. This is done to count it as income to satisfy EUROSTAT criteria. It is a hare-brained idea. If a large or even a sizeable section of households do not pay, the Government will not meet the 50% requirement to satisfy the EUROSTAT criteria. It is impractical and it could fall apart.

The Government is supposedly giving the money back to people for conservation. Many forms have been submitted in recent weeks from people who will not be paying customers because they have private wells. They do not depend on Uisce Éireann or the local authority for water but the Government will give them the water conservation grant although they do not have to conserve water. They can go up the town and drink the money. They can buy four bottles of vodka or anything else with it.

I am totally in favour of conservation. The party I represent wants to conserve water and protect the environment but this has nothing to do with that. The €100 could be used to damage the environment. It could be used for anything. It is a hare-brained scheme just to perform some bookkeeping gymnastics to satisfy the Government’s European masters.

Borrowing off balance sheet is given as a justification for the charges. This week, I invited the Detroit water campaigners into Leinster House where they met Members and their staff. They outlined very clearly what happened in their city with borrowing off balance sheet. Their water services are technically in public ownership but the city sold debt bonds, as this Government is going to do, but the people who control the debt bonds now control the service. They set out how it is supposed to operate and a whole range of measures the water services must follow, including charge huge prices for water in and massive prices for water out.

This has led to a situation where almost 16,000 households in Detroit are disconnected from water services today. It is absolutely crazy that so many people in that city are without water or sanitary services. That is where all of this is going. That is where it will get to.

The Minister is one of the two Labour Party Deputies who are present. I know the Fine Gael Deputy who is here has concerns about this matter too. I assure them that the water charges project is not sustainable. It is wrong. It cannot work in its current form. It is hare-brained, and no conservation measures have been provided for. There is no conservation. The figures have been moved around to try to meet a false set of criteria. It is morally wrong because many people do not have the money to pay. There is no recognition of people's ability to pay. It is wrong that a single millionaire living in a mansion will pay the same as a family living in a cabin. It is also tactically wrong. The Government should stop it and go back to the drawing board. I will be opposing section 3 of the Bill.

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