Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Much of this comes down to the definition of what is a customer. As Members are aware, many people do not wish to be customers, as they discern the difference between being a citizen and being a customer. However, there appear to be two definitions, one of which is in the 2013 legislation and which pretty much defines it as the occupier. However, when it comes to customers, there are two definitions because on the form, it states one can opt out of being a customer, whereas the legislation states one cannot do so and one is a customer regardless of one's wishes. As the dispute resolution process states the customer is someone who has registered, there appears to be a variation as to what in fact is a customer. There is the customer as defined by Irish Water and then there is the customer as defined by legislation and this is quite a significant issue with regard to dispute resolution.

People will have disputes of all kinds about bills, water leaks and a range of different things and irrespective of whether people are in dispute, it is absolutely ridiculous that they can be shut out of a dispute resolution process when there is a dispute to be resolved. I do not understand how one can be a customer as defined by Irish Water and a customer as defined by the legislation because I believe there is a difference between the two. I asked the Minister about this last week when I asked about the number of people who actually had registered. I must state I find it extraordinary - given the reports I have heard from people who sent back forms that were incomplete and who did not even open the envelope but simply wrote on the envelope to send it back - that one is supposed to believe that only approximately 20,000 of the forms were returned like that. This issue of the definition of the customer and defining it in two different ways goes to the heart of this particular section of the Bill.

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