Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a fact. I find it hard to listen to the hypocrisy I hear in the Chamber. Borrowing for metering will be repaid, just as when local authorities borrow. Where meters have been installed, we have found large volumes of water leakage. It is very obvious for people to see and when Irish Water publishes its annual reports, with the oversight of ComReg, we will see the very real benefits of Irish Water and how it is managing the asset. I have listened carefully to some Deputies. Although I did not time Deputy Paul Murphy, for many minutes he gave an ideological lecture on a model that has failed throughout the world.

That model essentially involves spending lots of money as long it is somebody else's money. I have asked for solutions and alternative proposals. The difference between Opposition and Government is that Opposition Members are entitled to express opposition, which I respect, and they can also express anger and complain, which I also respect. I expected to see alternative proposals but all we are getting is anger without any solutions for delivering a modern and fit-for-purpose water system which will serve the needs of this country for generations to come. That is important because the Irish Water model has already brought benefits in the short few months it has been in existence. It is allowing water leaks to be fixed, thereby reducing wastage of treated water. Treatment facilities are being upgraded more efficiently and our ground water and water sources are being protected. In County Roscommon, the boil water notices affecting more than 11,000 people were lifted yesterday.

Deputies have suggested that Irish Water will not be able to raise money but the forecast billing revenue of €271 million will allow it to draw down additional investment. Between 2014 and 2015 more than €1.2 billion, excluding metering and establishment, will be invested in our public water systems. The Deputies opposite are public representatives who listen to their constituents just as I do. If a constituent has a boil water notice or a coastline or river is being polluted, they will try to hold the public agencies to account. Those public agencies cannot respond to complaints unless they can invest in their utilities. The subvention was criticised by a number of Deputies. It is ironic that the very same subvention allows the Government to cap the charges to make them more affordable for our citizens. It provides for children's water allowances and the capped charges. I do not understand why they are criticising it given that it reduces the cost burden on the very people they claim to represent.

Deputies Eamon Ó Cuív and Catherine Murphy raised issues in regard to the Estimates. The transfer of funds from the Exchequer was agreed as part of the Estimates process. The revenue and the Revised Estimates were published on 18 December 2014 and the matter was debated in the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on 3 March 2015 and subsequently moved by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in the Dáil on 5 March 2015. The Estimates process allowed the question of the transfer of funds to be dealt with transparently. In 2016 the moneys to be transferred from the Exchequer will be decided as part of the same Estimates process and Members will have an opportunity to engage in that debate. The Revised Estimates for 2015 for the local government fund include a statement that income to and expenditure by the fund was €1.84 billion, of which €459 million was from local property taxes and paid directly to local authorities for the delivery of essential services, €364 million went to roads programmes, €399 million went into water investment programmes and €484 million went to the Exchequer. Nothing has been hidden in these figures. We are being open in proposing a model which will ensure investment in essential water networks. We can stand over that model. There was huge opposition to the ESB when it was first established in the 1920s. In time people will look back these debates and wonder why this new utility was ever opposed. Nobody likes to introduce taxes but in government we have responsibilities. I want a water infrastructure that will serve this generation and the generations to come.

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