Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Healy is not yet in the Chamber, if he arrives perhaps he can contribute later. As a signatory of the motion being debated, I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the discussion on the abolition of Irish Water. As has been stated previously, this motion is simple. It meets all the language that was included and that Fianna Fáil espoused in its election manifesto about the abolition of Irish Water and of water charges. It is straightforward and it should be a simple matter to have this motion passed this evening given that a majority of Deputies in the House support the wording of it.

However, we are in a time of new politics, about which much has been said, and in these new politics the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government has decided to suspend water charges into the future and therefore, they will combine together to vote down this motion and make sure it does not see the light of day. I wonder about this because if Fianna Fáil agreed that the suspension of water charges should go ahead, the rest of the motion does not interfere with Fianna Fail policy at all and an amendment could have been tabled that would set a date for a referendum to take place to enshrine public ownership of water services in the Constitution that I imagine would have been acceptable to Fianna Fáil as well. This is what Members should be doing.

On listening to this debate one might think nothing ever happened in water services before 2014, when Irish Water miraculously came into existence and rode in on its white horse to save water services nationwide. The reality is that most of the plans in place regarding the County Roscommon boil water notices had been in place under Roscommon County Council but the Government withheld the funding to allow them to proceed. That was the history of water services across the country as successive Governments held a noose around the necks of local authorities. They held the purse strings and drip-fed funding to allow water services and infrastructure to be improved. This is the reason water services did not work and it has nothing to do with Fine Gael's previous brainchild, the establishment of Irish Water to save water services. In addition, people always have paid for water and both the present Government and its predecessor would like them to pay twice. I wonder what is the idea and motivation behind the suspension of water charges because everybody knows what this expert committee will say. It will state that water charges should be maintained and practically any Member could write that report for it. What will happen is Members will not wait for two years for Fianna Fáil to get the cover to ensure charges will continue.

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