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

The Minister of State will be able to speak in a moment.

The ESB, Bord na Móna and the remaining public element of Bord Gáis are semi-State companies that pay rates. Why will Irish Water not pay rates? What is the difference between it and other semi-State companies?

I have a problem with the prison in Portlaoise and Departments and Government offices not paying rates to local authorities. This causes problems in many counties, specifically County Laois where there is a concentration of Government buildings around Portlaoise town, although we manage the issue. The difference in the case of Irish Water, however, is that it is, according to the Minister, a stand-alone, commercial semi-State company.

While I would prefer if water services were still the responsibility of local authorities, the position has changed as a result of the Government's handling of the issue.

Irish Water will be given preferential treatment, on top of all the loans which have been wiped to one side and everything else that has been done. Shovelloads of money have been put into the hands of the company so it can pay large salaries and do whatever it likes. Perhaps it is being fattened up for privatisation down the line. Where does the preferential treatment end? What will be next? The Minister needs to re-examine the issue. There is a major liability in regard to rates. Local authorities were supposed to receive the LPT, but €486 million of the money collected in 2014 was taken from them. The Minister now proposes to make them carry a further liability-----

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