Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

An interesting sort of language is being used during the debate on this amendment. A previous speaker introduced the language of citizenship to the debate even though it is clear that this amendment relates to customer relations. The corporate idea of having a relationship with a customer is incorporated in the ethos of this Bill. A citizen is a person of a community and of a political community. Rather than availing of the opportunity presented by the local authority system to involve democratically elected councillors who represent the interests of citizens, it seems that an opaque and inaccessible forum is being devised as part of the total corporatisation of Irish Water services to shift the system away from citizens. On Tuesday at 10.30, there was a degree of plausible deniability on the plinth of the Dáil where the previous Minister was blamed for everything. The Minister, Deputy Kelly, did not blame the former Minister, Phil Hogan, for what happened with respect to the destruction of our democratically elected local authorities.

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