Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----the Deputy from Louth, whom I believe has enough information now. I have stated privately that he has the grenade in his hand. I had a water meter with me in the Dáil one evening during the debate. It was about the same size as a hand grenade, if a bit larger and more technical. The Deputy has the grenade if he wants to pull the pin and sink this beast. Not the Government, but the beast, because it is a failure. One could not bring it to a mart or anywhere to sell it because no one would buy it, take it or want it. The Minister, Deputy Kelly, does not want it either. He does not want his legacy to be the depraved beast of Irish Water. That would be some legacy. I told him so this morning and will not dwell on it. No one wants Irish Water. It is a monstrosity contrived by officials and some private people who thought it was a great idea because a lot of them, despite only being in their 50s, were due to retire with their pensions and redundancy payments and they might have wanted get a job somewhere else. Irish Water was created as a rest home for senior officials and to take in a great deal of money and bleed the people.

I am on record as saying that water should be paid for. I drew water on a horse and cart from a well with a hand pump and a barrel. I am only 56 years of age. Most people remember those days. I salute the pioneers who developed the group schemes.

I thank and compliment the county council officials and workers on the ground, including plumbers, caretakers and inspectors, who ran a good service for years while starved of funding. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste claimed that Irish Water got a desert - there was no network, intake plant or treatment plant. One would think Irish Water was out in the Sahara somewhere, but there was a working scheme. We were not all coming up to Dublin black with dirt. We were washed and clean and had sanitation, thanks be to God. Going by the comments of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, one would think that we were going around with buckets, barrels and jennets all of the time to bring water from wells or going into bog-holes for water. We had services. We had treatment plants. We had good staff. We had good people who worked all hours of the day, including Christmas Day, to provide water, fix leaks and talk to people.

Officials have been dismissed as if they have never worked. I know and am friendly with many of them and respect their work. They devised a system of charging. Farmers, publicans, hairdressers and constituency offices - every business - have been paying for water for decades. Meters were fitted, water was supplied and people had accounts. They had one-off leakage allowances if they had large leaks about which they did not know. The system was good and working but it was not a quango that could give jobs to the boys who wanted second incomes on top of their pensions and huge payouts. I want to put paid to that idea and salute the people and departmental officials who worked hard in my county to get the Burncourt and Fethard schemes, which have been awaited for 50 years. I do not know whether the former Minister of State, Mr. Brian Hayes, MEP, announced them, but the contract was signed last January. I have not seen sight of the contract. When I inquired, I was told that it had been "executed". I thought I was back in the days of the 1916 Rising. "Executed", Uise Éireann's new terminology. The Minister might tell me what is meant by a contract being "executed". No sod has been turned. The Minister would be welcome to visit any day.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, who is a good friend of mine, to the Chamber. He does not want Irish Water. He is not happy with this Bill because he is a practical man who understands that-----

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