Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

supports the need for significant investment in upgrading Ireland’s public water and wastewater systems and improving the on-going management of the public water resource;

notes:

— that Irish Water will be retained as a single national utility, in public ownership, with responsibility for the delivery of public water and waste water services; and

— the improvements made by Irish Water since its establishment as a national utility, in:

— increasing capital investment, with some €550 million to be invested in 2016;

— prioritising the elimination of boil water notices;

— placing a greater focus on reducing leakage;

— the over 39 million litres of water per day already being saved as a result of the ‘Free First Fix’ scheme and domestic customer repairs;

— the 500 kilometres of pipework repaired or replaced over the past two and a half years;

— increasing Dublin’s spare water capacity; and

— dealing with issues arising from lead pipes identified as part of the metering programme;

welcomes the commitment of the Government to establish:

— an expert advisory body on a statutory basis to advise on measures to improve the transparency and accountability of Irish Water and to give quarterly reports on its performance in relation to its business plan to an Oireachtas committee; and

— an expert commission to make recommendations for the sustainable long-term funding model for the delivery of domestic water and wastewater services by Irish Water; and

notes that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will shortly introduce a Bill to suspend domestic water charges for a period of nine months from the end of the current billing cycle; this will be extended by the Government if this is required and requested by the special Oireachtas committee established to consider the recommendations of the expert commission, to facilitate the completion of its work and consideration of, and voting upon, its recommendations by the Oireachtas.”

I am pleased that the House is having a debate on this issue.

Issues relating to the provision and funding of the delivery of one of our most important natural resources have commanded much political debate since the general election. It is therefore opportune, in my first contribution to Private Members' business in this Dáil term, to detail the actions the Government will take to ensure the Oireachtas is in a position to take an informed and considered decision on the enduring funding model for the public water and wastewater services. The debate begins in the Chamber this evening and the context should be that of Members striving to achieve high-quality, secure and sustainably funded water services.

I wish to remind Members of the condition of the public water system when the previous Government decided to establish a single national utility. A total of 945,000 people were dependent on drinking water supply requiring remedial action, almost 20,000 people were on boil water notices and 49% of all water produced was lost through leakage. The capital city, Dublin, which should have had a spare water capacity of 10% to 15% like most European capitals, had a spare capacity of just 1% to 4%. Major drinking water schemes such as those in Vartry, County Wicklow, and the Lee Road scheme in Cork were antiquated and in need of significant modernisation. In 44 urban areas throughout Ireland, untreated sewage was going into rivers and seas, thereby posing a major risk to public health and the environment. This is a snapshot of what was known at the time. Irish Water then began to uncover new legacy problems as it began to map assets and compile data. By the beginning of last year, it had identified 156 wastewater treatment plants that were overloaded. Moreover, 70% of sewers were in need of repair while the public water network had 55,000 km of water mains, that is, more than twice the average length per head of population in England and Wales and significantly higher than what was thought to be there. The problem of insufficient spare capacity was not confined to Dublin as one third of water treatment plants did not have sufficient headroom capacity. These treatment plants form part of an infrastructure that has an average age twice that of infrastructure across Europe.

As to why we had these problems, put simply it was because we are guilty of having underinvested in water infrastructure and services for decades. This is one thing on which I do agree with many Opposition spokespersons. The capital allocations for vital water and wastewater projects and upgrades competed with, and more than often lost to, other more pressing and tangible investment requirements such as roads, schools and hospitals. In addition, these problems existed because 34 local authorities were providing services and infrastructure on a sub-national basis, defined as they were by diseconomies of scale in procurement and network and asset management. This resulted, despite the dedicated commitment and professionalism of local authority staff, in often financially constrained circumstances. A new approach was needed as without it, the water services would continue to be deficient thereby putting at risk security of supply, protection of public health and the environment, as well as the water needs of citizens and businesses alike. For these reasons, the Government established a single national utility to deliver water services and infrastructure. Such a utility could plan and invest on a whole-of-asset-base basis and on a national basis.

Since Irish Water became the national water utility in January 2014, it has made significant progress in addressing some of the problems to which I referred. By the end of 2015, Irish Water had delivered 20 new and upgraded water treatment plants and 49 new and upgraded wastewater treatment plants. In addition, 500 km of pipework has been repaired or replaced. For too many people, the reality of having to boil water before using it for drinking or cleaning has become far too familiar. Last year, 17,300 people in County Roscommon no longer were obliged to boil the water coming out of their taps. This is real progress and is making a difference to people's lives and is progress in which Irish Water's expertise and work has been instrumental. The number of people dependent on water supplies listed on the Environmental Protection Agency's remedial action list of works requiring remedial action has reduced significantly over that time. From 945,000 two years ago, it now stands at 800,000, which still is too large but is reducing. Dublin's spare water capacity has increased from 1% to 4% to 10%, which is a welcome move towards the 15% target of Irish Water. Through the 835,000 meters installed by the utility, Irish Water has been able to identify customer-side leakage and to offer householders repairs under the first-fix repair scheme. By the end of February 2016, approximately 39.5 million litres of water per day had been saved through this scheme and through domestic customers' repairs arising from leakage detected through metering. To put this figure into context, the entire water needs of Wicklow in a single day amount to 34 million litres. It makes far more sense to save existing water than to build new plants without addressing leakage on both the public mains and the customer side. The metering programme also has been crucial in the identification of possible lead piping in householders' properties. Irish Water is helping to implement the Government strategy in reducing public exposure to lead in drinking water. It has written to 34,000 households informing them of the likely presence of lead piping in their properties and has provided them with customer advice on dealing with the issue, including public health advice from the Health Service Executive.

In parallel with increased investment, Irish Water has introduced new approaches to asset management and maintenance. It plans investment consistency across its asset base, rather than on the basis of large-scale one-off investments. This approach, including the use of new technologies, has been rolled out across major projects such as the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant upgrade, which has saved significant amounts of money. In addition to savings on capital projects, Irish Water has reduced day-to-day expenditure. Year on year, Irish Water has reduced operational costs by 7% since 2014. It is standardising the way in which operations are conducted and is implementing new initiatives to bring down costs. Among these savings is an expected €30 million in procurement efficiencies between 2014 and 2016. Some of this progress arises from the innovative and national approach adopted by a public utility. However, increased investment also is critical. In 2013, local authorities invested approximately €300 million through the water services investment programme. This year, Irish Water expects to invest approximately €550 million in the network, which represents an increase in investment of 83% in just three years. As a result, new water treatment plants are coming on stream and major projects such as the Cork lower harbour project now are being delivered. This investment will secure quality drinking water supplies and will contribute to ending the reality of raw sewage being discharged straight into rivers and seas.

I will shortly establish an expert commission to examine and make recommendations on the sustainable long-term funding model for the delivery of domestic water and wastewater services by Irish Water. A special Oireachtas committee on the funding of domestic water services will debate the commission's recommendations and ultimately, this House and the Upper House will consider and decide on the future of charges. This process should take no more than nine months from the end of June of this year and I ask Members to afford the commission and the special Oireachtas committee the space and time in this period to independently put the facts and funding issues before the Oireachtas. This is why the Government's amending motion must be supported. Important decisions that affect each citizen in the country should not be taken in a vacuum that will exist until the committee's recommendations are put before the House. Members must acknowledge the significant level of investment Irish Water is making. It is imperative for Members on all sides to ensure this investment can be sustained and that the €5.5 billion in capital investment Irish Water needs between 2014 and 2021 to deliver the commitments in its business plan is made available. Without consistency of funding, the legacy problems of poor water quality, inadequate wastewater treatment, high leakage levels, lead pipes and antiquated infrastructure will not be addressed and nor will supplies be secured against the pressures of a growing population, an expanding economy and climate change.

The issue of public ownership of water services is one on which people have strongly held views, as do I. Water is fundamental to everyday existence and the public has consistently espoused the idea that water services and the national utility should not be subject to market forces and nor should people's access to water be determined by private commercial interests owning or running water services for profit.

In 2014, the Government reinforced the legal safeguard against any future privatisation or semi-privatisation of the utility. The Oireachtas legislated to prohibit the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government from initiating a legislative proposal to privatise Irish Water or sell any share held by the Government without the prior approval of a majority of voters in a plebiscite and without a resolution from both Houses of the Oireachtas approving such a proposal.

I will finish by making an appeal to the House. Deputies will get the rest of my speech, but I do not want to take up any more of my colleagues' time. We are trying to allow for an informed and detailed discussion on how we fund water provision and waste water treatment in the future. We are trying to take some of the heat out of this issue by providing a nine-month window for that debate. We will get experts from Ireland and other parts of the world to make recommendations. The Oireachtas committee that takes those recommendations will not be bound by them, but I hope it will be guided by them. We will have an opportunity to vote in this House as we see fit at the end of that debate. An issue as important as water provision for our people and our country surely deserves that time window for a rational discussion and debate before we make a decision of that importance at the end of that period.

I commend my motion to the House.

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