Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support the inclusion of the public water forum in the section. When I first heard reference to the public forum, a specific reference was made to another forum that had been set up some time ago, namely, the Constitutional Convention. I was a member of that convention and I attended every one of those meetings over a period of a year or more. As that process developed, one could see its value more and more.

When we set up a new consultation process, there is a leap of faith involved because we are stepping into the unknown in a sense. As we gathered last week in the Taoiseach's office to reflect on the consultation process that had taken place in the Constitutional Convention, I suspect every one of the 66 citizens from throughout the country would have complete confidence not only in that process but in the public representatives who engaged in it.

The Government is being brave. The Government and the Minister are showing a willingness to engage with the public on this new process, and it is to be welcomed. It is not, as Deputy Cowen referred to it, a petty forum, and it is certainly not a quasi-quango. It is an effort on the part of the Government to engage with people on this new utility, and what we are seeing here today is an effort at continuing filibustering at all costs, even to the point where Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin continued to debate it and voted against section 6, which prohibits the Government from reducing or terminating people's water supply if each household does not pay the charge. One cannot believe that. This is filibustering at its worst. This is a process that has been welcomed, and it is one that I support.

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