Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Technical Group for tabling this motion which gives the House an opportunity to discuss the issue yet again. Every time we discuss it we hear of another deadline and again tonight the Government has not failed to oblige in that regard. The Minister said earlier that he has a new deadline, which means that beyond June the €100 grant will not be given for turning on the tap for as long as one likes.

My party and I acknowledge that funds need to be invested in water services. I ask the Government to also acknowledge that €5.5 billion was spent on water infrastructure and water services during the years 2000 to 2010. It is a myth to say that there has been no spending by previous governments in this area.

I acknowledge that there was and continues to be a need for an authority to oversee, adjudicate and prioritise development in the water services sector. Such an authority should be along the lines of a national infrastructure directorate, a much slimmer, leaner entity than the cumbersome overpaid and bonus-driven quango that is Irish Water. I suggest it should be a body similar to the NRA, which has proved to be successful and which has delivered within budgets and on time. Many people have recognised the input of the NRA in improving our infrastructure and connectivity throughout the country. This example might be taken on board by the Government at some stage in the near future in order to address the imbalance between the eastern seaboard and the rest of the country.

Such a structure could be funded by general taxation, by public private partnership and by the European Investment Bank in partnership with the local authorities who have been subject to ridicule by various sectors of this Government who continue to say that the local authorities and their staff could not do the job effectively of managing and maintaining our water systems and services. This is despite the fact that having established this €1 billion quango and the new tier above that very system, the Government has retained the services of the local authorities until 2025. Yet, it thinks this new tier is a good policy.

Rather than rehearsing many of the failures and disasters that have ensued since the rushed establishment of Irish Water, in the short time available to me I wish to concentrate on the construct, the model that is Irish Water. What is this bonus-driven, oversized super-quango with its bonuses and everything else associated with it? It has cost over €1 billion to date to put it in place and not one cent is in excess of what was put in place annually by the previous Administration for the delivery of water services. We have been consistently told that this funding model, this Holy Grail, to get off the balance sheet, is the only way in which future investment can be made in our water infrastructure. We have been told they will be able to borrow at affordable rates and off-balance sheet. However, it is clear that this construct, this Holy Grail, is in great danger. From the outset it started to crumble to the point where, thankfully, the Government climbed down but not to the extent envisaged or sought by the Opposition parties.

The Government reduced the excessive charges of between €500 and €600, which were the figures being bandied about. If these charges had remained in place, it could have argued that with such high revenue from charges, interest rates on loans would be low. However, interest rates on loans increase the day income declines.

Irish Water tells us it has successfully borrowed €300 million on the markets this year at an interest rate of 2.5%. The National Treasury Management Agency is borrowing on behalf of the Government at a rate of 1%. This means funds are being borrowed for Irish Water at 1.5 times the rate being paid by the NTMA. Does anyone consider that it is members of the public who pay for these borrowings, irrespective of the interest rate or charge that is levied?

We were led to believe that borrowing by Irish Water would safeguard Government investment in other areas, for example, in the housing programme. The Taoiseach stated at his party's recent Ard-Fheis that billions of euro would be invested in rural areas. The Minister of State with responsibility for rural affairs informed us, however, that the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas, CEDRA, which is chaired by Mr. Pat Spillane, will not invest another red cent over and above what has already been invested in rural areas. This type of spin and rubbish is coming home to roost. The more we drill down and investigate the spin about investments, the more we find that there is little behind it.

The Minister stated the country is in recovery mode. While that is true of some parts of the country, many areas have not seen any sign that recovery is in prospect. We are informed the country will meet its financial targets, including the 3% of GDP deficit target. If that is the case, the borrowings required for investment in Irish Water could be made on balance sheet at an interest rate of 1% as opposed to 2.5%.

Speaking on a radio programme last February, a Labour Party Senator let the cat out of the bag when she stated legislation could be introduced to take funds directly from wages, social welfare payments and pensions. She was ridiculed at the time and we were told nothing could be further from the truth. We heard yesterday, however, that special courts will be established to address this issue and the long arm of this right-wing Government will take the charge from people. We were told a couple of weeks that the EUROSTAT decision on the arrangements pertaining to Irish Water has been delayed for up to two months. The Government has been advised that without a definite income stream, Irish Water will not stand up to EUROSTAT's rules. People with Sky television must pay for the service or face being cut off. They cannot expect a charge will be levied on their property to pay for the service at some point in future, yet this is the type of approach the Government was advocating.

When the Fianna Fáil Party and other Opposition parties tabled amendments to the legislation on Irish Water providing for the introduction in law of an ability to pay mechanism, we were told the proposal was rubbish. Yesterday, however, the Minister informed us that the courts will take into consideration a person's ability to pay when cases come before them. We were sold a pup, a pig in a poke and the Government's accountancy trick is coming home to roost, having blown up in the Minister's face. The ridiculous aspect of this issue is that while Irish Water could be funded from general taxation or NTMA loans charged at an interest rate of 1%, the Government has decided to go off balance sheet and have Irish Water borrow at an interest rate of 3%. It believes members of the public do not understand what is going on. One either borrows at low rates and imposes high charges or one imposes low charges and covers the costs using revenue from general taxation. It is time to call a halt to this by disbanding Irish Water, abolishing water charges for the moment and going back to the drawing board.

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