Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is a small Labour Party presence. It is Sinn Féin's firm belief that local authorities and the Dáil are the best way of providing accountability. Unfortunately, Irish Water is at one remove from such accountability. There may be an occasional clinic or a hotline but that is as good as it gets. It is the difference between democratic accountability and corporatism. Corporatism has its place but it happens in boardrooms. Democracy also has its place. If one came up with a proposal like this 30 or 40 years ago, no party in this House would entertain the idea of taking a vital service like water from democratic control and moving it into a corporate structure with questionable origins. There is little accountability in Irish Water. It is not accountable to the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government or the Houses of the Oireachtas in any proper way. I proposed an amendment which would allow householders, commercial water users and trade union members to be represented on the forum. The last speaker is correct that the health forums are talking shops, although they were established by his former party, the Progressive Democrats. Consultative forums are talking shops. The difference is that local authorities had the right to make plans, hold executives to account and decide how money for water services should be spent. The electorate, in turn, held the council members to account, providing a straight line of accountability. The water forum will be a talking shop but Sinn Féin wants to ensure that the three aforementioned groups will at least be involved with it.

Section 7 provides for a right to comment on any consultation document produced by the Commission for Energy Regulation in respect of public water and waste water services. That is an example of the convoluted nature of the legislation. Matters are being taken very far away from where people can be held to account for decisions. We would prefer that Irish Water does not exist but given that the Minister is steaming ahead with it, I ask Government Deputies, including in particular Labour Party Deputies, to take my proposals on board. The water services workers in local authorities and Irish Water need to be represented on this consultative forum, along with householders and commercial water users who are paying for water every day.

I ask that the Government, in a spirit of co-operation, at least ensure that those three sectors are represented.

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