Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment although I would have the same reservations about people becoming customers of Irish Water. I do not see in the definitions section how a customer is constituted or defined. We heard last night that anyone who sent a pack back to Irish Water is regarded as a customer. Yet the declaration under section F of the application form states:

By completing and returning this form, I declare that to the best of my knowledge all of the information provided is true and accurate. If I have confirmed that I am connected to the public water main and/or the public sewer then I declare that I am a customer of Irish Water otherwise I am declaring that I am not a customer of Irish Water.

People are being asked to tick a box at the bottom of that section. Yet there are people who have sent that form back without filling it in and now they have been declared customers of Irish Water, but there is no definition of a customer in the legislation. According to the representative from Irish Water, once one is connected to the public main or if one is connected to the public sewer, one is deemed to be a customer. Who exactly will define who a customer is, if there is no definition of a customer in the legislation?

If this is going to be confined to those who have returned the packs and declared themselves as customers, we will not get a broad range of voices. We have all noticed that there have been very few dissenting voices at fora or in board rooms but inquisitive voices are exactly those that are needed. However, what this proposed forum seeks is people who are of like mind but that will not be of much value. The forum needs to be broader than that and it must include dissenting voices. Given that the word "customer" is not defined in the legislation, how would the Minister define a customer?

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