Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is time for the Government to stop what is to my mind a charade, and I am not going to stand here for the next ten minutes and ignore the real reason behind the Bill. The Minister and I both know the Government's interest in this Bill is to give what I can only describe as bully-boy power to Irish Water. It is that plain and it is that simple. Although the Government may seek to justify this ruthless legislation by claiming the reforms have come off the back of recommendations from the Law Reform Commission, it does not take a genius to figure out the only reason the Government is seeking to push through this legislation at this point is to give tyrannical power to the shambles that is Irish Water.

This Bill goes hand in hand with the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill that was rushed through the Chamber without proper scrutiny earlier this week. The Government is clearly desperate to deal with the Irish Water mess before the recess in order that come the autumn, Irish Water is not the subject of Dáil debate before a possible general election. My answer to that is "dream on".

A draft copy of the Bill was only sent to Deputies last Friday. This draft was changed by the beginning of the week without a note explaining the reasoning behind the changes or the effects of such. This is, yet again, another example of the Government showing disregard for how democratic business should be carried out in this institution.

It goes without saying Sinn Féin does not support the primary objective of the Bill. While we welcome the abolition of imprisonment for debtors who cannot pay, the other provisions are Thatcher-like. The Bill reads like a stereotypical school canteen bully sketch. It conjures up the image of a big bully boy coming along and turning a smaller child upside down to shake every last cent of lunch money from his or her pocket. With these proposals, the Government is helping creditors, including large utility companies and multinationals, to empty the pockets of citizens through aggressive and adversarial methods before the courts.

The legislation, effectively, has two purposes. The first is to allow creditors, including Irish Water, to apply to court for an order enabling an attachment of earnings or deductions from social welfare payments for the purpose of the enforcement of debt. This will disproportionately target those on low pay and persons in receipt of social welfare payments. It is important to be absolutely clear on this matter. Sinn Féin in government post the general election will abolish Irish Water; there are no ifs or buts about this. In regard to other civil debts, although the Government offers the vague assurance that an attachment of earnings and deductions from social welfare payments are merely options to be used by creditors if they so decide, there is no requirement that a creditor first exhaust other avenues before resorting to the courts. That is procedurally unsound. Adversarial proceedings should not be available as a first option in such scenarios.

The process as outlined in the Bill means that a creditor will first have to obtain a judgment against a debtor in respect of a debt and may then make an application to the District Court for an attachment of earnings order or deductions from payments where the judgment concerned is for a liquidated sum of not less than €500 and not greater than €4,000. The debtor will then have to furnish the court with a statement of means and dependant and liability information in order for it to determine the protected earning rate of the debtor. Preparation of a statement of means is an obvious burden for debtors. On top of the worry of such debt, it is unreasonable to impose on debtors the further burden of producing such a detailed document for the court. The possibility of the details provided being inaccurate as a result of the sheer volume of information sought is high. The provision of misinformation would, through no fault of the debtor, undermine the protected earning rate to be determined by the court. Furthermore, the protected earning rate safeguard is inadequate. The bottom line is that the Bill creates a situation where companies can use the courts to take money from the pockets of people who, in the grand scheme of things, owe a relatively small debt. Whatever little safety net a debtor and his or her family may have to rely on after liabilities are accounted for will be taken from under them.

In regard to the €500 minimum debt in respect of which an attachment of earnings order can be made, an unpaid water charge debt would take only two years to accumulate to this amount. Such debtors will be dragged before a judge with no recourse to appeal. How does this differentiate, as the Government claims it does, between those who cannot pay and those who will not pay? What is being proposed amounts to intimidation by the Government. It is galling, as is the cynicism of the Administration in general. If the Minister and her colleagues are serious about protecting those facing fines and debts from imprisonment for non-repayment, why, more than one year since it was passed, has the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Bill not been enacted? Surely that is the appropriate vehicle to address matters that are a part of the intent of the Bill before us?

Attachment of earnings orders, as a permissible first resort for creditors, are a very severe way to deal with issues that have alternative resolutions. Has any consideration been given to how they will impact on employer-employee relations? Strong two-way employment relationships should be encouraged. Instead, the Bill is placing an unfair onus on the employer to do the dirty work of the creditor companies, including Irish Water, and the courts. This will damage employment relationships and is an extra burden employers definitely do not need.

Sinn Féin does support the second purpose of the Bill. We agree with the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission to provide for the abolition of imprisonment of debtors except in the case of maintenance arising from family law. That is in line with international best practice and human rights. However, the sneaky inclusion of this provision in one section at the very end of the Bill is cynical. Moreover, to disguise the entire Bill as a step forward in dealing with civil debt in a modern way is despicable and far from laudable. That has, however, been the approach of the Government from the start. We have seen legislation rushed through, debate guillotined and sections slipped into Bills here, there and everywhere. We have had ample evidence of this during the past four days of sittings.

Sinn Féin does not support the Bill as presented and will be submitting amendments on Committee Stage. The legislation must be amended to delete all sections which advocate a flawed adversarial approach to the recovery of debt. That is not the way forward. The only provisions of merit in the entire Bill are those which abolish the imprisonment of debtors. The rest of it misses the bigger picture. To allow companies, including Irish Water, to use bully tactics to recover debt is unnecessary and ruthless and, moreover, is out of line with the direction in which legal resolutions are heading. There is plenty of evidence to show that the courts, for the most part, are heading down a path of mediation and dispute resolution. To allow creditors to use the courts as a first option in the way the Bill proposes undermines the direction the courts are taking. It is not an acceptable way for this or any Government to deal with the issue of the unjust and unfair water tax, which is what the legislation is really all about. The answer to that problem is to abolish water charges. We in Sinn Féin will absolutely stand over our commitment to do so, if given the opportunity by voters. They will soon have their chance to pass judgment on the Government's record in recent years.

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