Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Deputy Lahart, for sharing time.

It is important that the House is debating this issue. I listened to the revisionist speech of the acting Minister, Deputy Howlin, in which he washed his hands of this issue. Irish Water was created in 2009 when the concept first appeared in the NewERA document produced by the Fine Gael Party. The birth and implementation of Irish Water were abject failures. Four water services Bills were rammed through the House and guillotined by the previous Government. We also had the farce of the introduction of a conservation grant of €100. As Deputy Lahart stated, the grant had nothing to do with conservation and was introduced to bribe people to participate in a model that would never work.

All of us agree that we must conserve water, a highly valuable resource. People have jumped on the bandwagon in recent years and used this issue for political gain. When one is in a hole, however, one should stop digging. Now that a stop has been put to water charges, we can examine the current model, including the ownership of water. I was the leader of the Opposition in the previous Seanad, which passed a motion calling for a referendum to ensure ownership of water remained with the people in perpetuity. Irish Water was established using a model that did not reflect the advice the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government received from independent consultants. Under the structure chosen, the company could be privatised and sold on at some point in future. Irish people are intelligent and saw that was the case.

Irish people are also intelligent enough to realise that Sinn Féin was scared into pretending to campaign against water charges when it lost the by-election in Dublin South-West more than two years ago. I read with interest Sinn Féin's manifesto for the Assembly elections in the North. When one discounts the five blank pages, the document extends to 24 pages, of which two and a half are devoted to the party's priorities for government in the North. The manifesto does not contain a single reference to water because Sinn Féin in the North charges people for water and applies a property tax.

The fundamental problem with the water charges and property taxes is that ability to pay is not taken into account. The water charges are not a conservation measure but a tax and people view them as such. At this stage, it is important to suspend water charges and try to find a better model to improve water infrastructure. I watched with interest a recent "Prime Time" programme which reported from Rush in my constituency where raw sewage is pumped into the sea on the north beach. That is outrageous and disgraceful. I remind Government Deputies that funding was in place for a scheme up to 2013 but the previous Government cut it and kicked on the completion date to 2018-20.

A targeted investment programme is needed, one which focuses on areas where infrastructure needs to be improved. Water charges must be suspended and a commission established to examine how the process would work in future. I am confused by Sinn Féin's stance that a commission would be a problem given that the party wanted such a commission, albeit one that would deliver exactly what it wanted. We must step back and examine what model can work properly, how local authorities can be properly funded and how water infrastructure can be properly upgraded.

This debate is welcome, as are the current moves towards the full suspension of water charges. A referendum on the ownership of Irish Water would address one of the main issues by ensuring that water remains in public ownership.

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