Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill and commend Deputy Mattie McGrath on bringing it before the House. I know things have moved on and there have been changes over the past number of months, but it is a very clear and sensible piece of legislation that tries to deal with Irish Water and its responsibility to the people of this country. This is the important thing, even though we have moved a bit over the past three months.

The issue of water services and water charges is a disgrace. The Government's handling of it, the consultants and the lack of accountability over the past number of months are appalling from a Government that promised change, reform, openness and accountability. Many people are asking what is going on here. Even this week, we have seen the Taoiseach refusing to answer questions in this House about Irish Water, the number of people who have been paid and who is paying. I do not think it is good enough or that it is transparent or accountable.

I commend the Deputy on his great work on the Bill. There are three key points in the legislation. It is primarily an attempt to rein in the ability of Irish Water to further mire hundreds of thousands of households in repair-related debt, which could run into multiples of the annual water charge. It also contains a provision for the establishment of the independent water ombudsman and the retention of the State water infrastructure in public hands, which I strongly support. It deals with the issue of full transparency and accountability in respect of Irish Water under the freedom of information legislation. I accept that this has moved on since then. Despite these efforts, Ministers are still not answering questions, which is appalling. It is also very upsetting for taxpayers.

Another issue that arisen in recent days is that of lead in pipes and public safety. More than 200,000 houses could have lead pipes. People in St. Anne's in Raheny, Marino, Artane and Coolock in my own constituency of Dublin Bay North have contacted my office about this issue and are very concerned. They are being asked to pay for water, but at the same time they find out that they must fix the water pipes themselves. I believe some small grant could made available for some people, but it will be means-tested. The vast majority of people will be hammered again. Some people are talking about extra costs to a family of around €5,000 or €6,000. This is once again an example of people on the ground being hammered by the Government.

The issue of cost is important, but the major issue for me is public health. The Minister of State said earlier on that there would be a campaign relating to this, but we need more than a campaign to deal with this issue. Lead in pipes is a serious public health issue. It can increase the number of children born with disabilities. We must focus on this issue. We have seen the reaction to the BSE finding over the past 12 hours. We all hope that works out well because, regardless of politics, we all want to see our agricultural sector flourish and develop. Lead in pipes needs to be tackled head-on. There is no point in coming out with statements and woolly campaigns. They are not enough. There is a major potential health crisis and we need to focus on this issue. The Minister and Irish Water need to wake up, smell the coffee and deal with the issue.

The Minister of State said that 20,123 people were on "boil water" notices from 21 supplies. More than 955,000 people depend on drinking water supplies that are at risk of not meeting the required standards. This poses a major risk. What has the Government been doing over the past 12 months? We have heard about leaks and lead in pipes and we now see people with "boil water" notices. The Government should fix the leaks and sort the water as well.

I think there are in the region of 800 km to 900 km of pipes in Dublin city that are over 100 years old. Another issue that has been left out of this debate is the environment. Lough Derg is a beautiful lake in County Tipperary that is visited by many tourists. I know the Minister of State knows the area around Dromineer and places like that well. There are major concerns about Irish Water proposing to take water from the lake. There are concerns that the water levels could be lowered, with effects on fishing, tourism and revenue.

This is related not only to Irish Water but also the broader debate about what is happening in this country. We have a long way to go before we have competent planning and quality services.

The relationship between water charges and what has been happening in society over the last four years is also relevant to this debate. I refer in particular to austerity. I do not accept the way in which certain EU member states are bullying other countries on the issue of debt. The IBRC debate earlier this week revealed that certain people had their debts written off while regular mortgage holders got screwed, received nasty letters or had their houses sold. The Government needs to change its attitude and the EU should stop bullying small countries like Greece. Greece was not destroyed by Syriza. Successive centre-right Governments were to blame for that.

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