Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

This whole idea of a public water forum is a total joke. When discussing amendment No. 29, I referred to the existence of public forums - the local authorities - which used to mean something. Representatives are elected to these authorities and these individuals can then be consulted by people. In the past, they had offices in local areas and individuals experiencing problems with their water supply could call in to discuss the matter with the relevant officials. Alternatively, they could phone their local councillors and inform them of the existence of a leak or a burst pipe and ask for assistance. All of this has been rendered superfluous by the establishment of Irish Water. The public water forum is a pathetic sop designed to try to pretend that the public and workers will have some input. In reality, they are going to be obliged to deal with call centres. As with most of the call centres with which people are obliged to deal these days, the centres relating to the forum will soon be outsourced to God knows where. When people experience difficulties with their water - as happens week in and week out - they will be obliged to phone someone in Scotland, India or God knows where. They will phone someone in Irish Water who, in turn, will contact the local council. The council will call Irish Water back and state that the matter is not its responsibility and the council will say it is not its responsibility either.

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