Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I add my name to the opponents of this section. The concept of a public water forum is to produce an overarching talking shop, but it is ill-defined in this context. Subsection (5) states:

The Forum shall have the following functions:(a) to represent the interests of customers of Irish Water;

Is this code for the overall pricing of the water service charge? I believe it is. The Bill continues: "to provide Irish Water with comments and suggestions." This is like a customer relations division. As Deputy Boyd Barrett stated, it will probably be outsourced to Mumbai, where the cost of running call centres is approximately one third of what it is in Ireland per capita. The Bill continues: "to provide the Commission with comments and suggestions in relation to the performance." This is customer rating stuff. One sees it on hotels' websites. It further states: "to comment on any policy document produced by Irish Water, when requested to do so in writing by Irish Water." This is so convoluted, it is like trying to do somersaults and acrobatics at the same time. It continues: "to comment on any consultation document produced by the Commission in respect of public water and waste water services, when requested to do so by the Commission." That is like being on standby all of the time for a call that might never come.

The next subparagraph is the dynamite bit. It states: "to carry out such other activities in respect of such other matters as the Minister by order specifies." I do not know how many question marks one can include in "other activities" and "other matters". This provision is so open, one could just keep a finger on the question mark button. Whoever is the Minister - it might not be the Minister, Deputy Kelly, by that date - can order and specify anything in connection with the section. As such, it is really just a waste of print, paper and time. It has not been thought out. The entire thing is crazy.

Deputy Boyd Barrett was right. The customer-service provider relationship is on the ground. That is where events happen, water flows and leaks occur. Establishing a huge forum that is not even specified - "at least 12 and not more than 60 members" - is like creating a people concertina. It is building an illusion. This is Christmas, and some people will package a surprise that is low on substance but around which they put tantalising paper and ribbons. It does not fool us - it is an illusion.

On a minor note, Deputy Stanley's amendment does not quite hold water grammatically or in terms of sense, but we know that his heart is in the right place. He is on the customer's side.

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