Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is important we debate the dispute resolution aspect. Regardless of what Bill is involved, I would imagine one would be strengthening it rather than weakening it. This is what the amendment is about. We all accept that many people are unhappy with Irish Water. Some will not register, while others will. My concern is that the rights of those who are not registered will be waived. I do not understand where the Minister is coming from on this. We all accept that there will be significant difficulties coming down the track. This has been described as the carrot-and-stick approach, which I do not understand.

There may be another reason this has been done, but I do not understand.

I can give examples from my constituency and the Minister probably does not want to hear them, but I have seen problems similar to those mentioned by other speakers in recent weeks. I have telephoned various entities about problems and been told that responsibility lies elsewhere. In one case a leak was discovered; I do not know for how many years it had continued, but I mention it because the Minister made reference to a period of six years. I was told by Uisce Éireann that the leak had not affected the basement of the building in question, but I could see water coming down. These things can happen and mistakes can be made. In Deputy Robert Dowds's constitutency of Dublin Mid-West a pipe collapsed and a gusher ensued. If the water had entered the property of a person not registered with Irish Water, what mechanism could have be used?

The Minister may say these things will not happen, but we have given examples and must make provision in all legislation for unexpected curved balls. We must try to encompass all ideas. The Minister must come back to us on the idea of people's rights being waived as the amendment relates to persons not being able to make a complaint. To follow up on what a previous speaker said, Vodafone and the like may have to deal with matters of nuisance, but water presents a different issue. As it knows no boundaries and could impact on broader society, I could imagine a person in a complex of flats having a problem with it. He or she might have a complaint and the Minister may counter that the courts offer a mechanism, but it is generally better for society if matters can be resolved without recourse to legal action. The best and cheapest mechanism to deal with a leak is to simply telephone the company responsible, set out the damage done to sofas and the like and have the company send an assessor. This is a cheaper approach than going to court.

I am concerned about how the legislation is being framed. The Minister knows that the Government has a majority in the House and can pass this legislation if it so wishes, but I ask him to re-examine and reconsider this section on dispute resolution as it must be strengthened. I am not thinking of what might happen today but in the future. If the legislation is passed, so be it, but this will be a recurring problem.

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