Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the amendment. I welcome the fact that a Bill I have been seeking for a considerable period of time is back in the House because unlike previous speakers, I think there is a lot in this Bill that means an awful lot in terms of the creation of badly needed employment, including in my constituency. From that perspective, I welcome the fact that the Bill is now on Report Stage.

In respect of the amendment, if one accepts that water services were heretofore funded out of the local government fund, one must accept the fact that in establishing any kind of new utility or shared service, there is a requirement to transfer that portion of the local government fund that was ring-fenced up to now for the provision of water to the utility that will provide water. That is a very basic understanding and I find it difficult to understand why somebody cannot grasp the concept that if the local government fund is being used to provide a water service under the existing structure of local authorities and that function is no longer with the local authority, the funding stream should follow. An awful lot of people would be belly-aching in here if this was not the case. If a service was transferred from another Department or local authority into a new agency and the required level of funding did not follow, I am sure people would be hopping up and down in here.

Deputy Stanley was very articulate in summing up his opposition to the water conservation grant as it is currently constructed. In my constituency, and I am sure that of Deputy Stanley, a huge number of people pay for their water and have done so for years.

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