Joe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is the question Deputy Boyd Barrett and others must answer. How would they fund change, or do they accept the status quo?

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, and the Government for tackling an unacceptable situation. We cannot continue with the current situation where we have a broken down pipe system, with 200 year old pipes in some instances, sewage effluent being released into freshwater and the boil water notices. We must have the courage of our convictions, lead from the front and deal with it. Then the question of how to fund that arises. Does one do it by indirect taxation, as the Opposition appears to imply, or by reducing other services? We say there should be a modest, reasonable and acceptable charge.

Today, we addressed the privatisation question. I will conclude, in deference to the Ceann Comhairle's wishes to proceed with the debate. The House and the people of the country should be satisfied following the amendment put forward today, which was not officially opposed in a vote by the Opposition. It will require the two Houses of the Oireachtas in unison with a plebiscite of the voting population of our country to change the situation and privatise Irish Water. Nothing could be more copperfastened than that. It is time we removed the nonsense from this debate and accept that we must fund this and proceed with it. My challenge to the Opposition is to tell the people precisely how it would fund it.

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