Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil opposes this debt enforcement bill. We believe this Bill forms part of the new legislative measures that the Government has been forced to introduce to shore up Irish Water and convince European officials of the financial viability of that company. For the first time, the Bill will allow attachment orders being made against social welfare payments and regular earnings for Irish Water bills and other outstanding debts. We know that currently, Irish Water will not release statistics on the number of households that have not paid their Irish Water bills. It is estimated that more than 400,000 people are still refusing to pay their water charges. This legislation could herald the beginning of an unprecedented number of households being brought before the District Court to enforce payment of Irish Water bills, with the potential to clog up the court lists and create further social unrest.

It is clear that the establishment of the Irish Water super-quango has been a complete debacle. It has already lost the support and confidence of the Irish public. The Government will struggle to raise the net €140 million in new charges and it will not invest an extra cent in infrastructure. There has been €540 million wasted on water meters that will not be used and €172 million has been spent establishing a bloated quango. The accountancy trick of taking Irish Water off the national balance sheet has backfired badly. It is this party's position that it is time to suspend water charges and abolish Irish Water.

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