Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

There has been considerable controversy in the past few days about the appointment of Mr. Joe O'Toole to the water commission. However, I thank Joe O'Toole for shining a light on the real objectives of the commission. His honesty in telling it like it is has been very useful to those of us who marched against and opposed water charges, as it is for the people who voted for a majority of Deputies in this House to oppose water charges. Joe O'Toole has already declared that central taxation is not enough to pay for water and that Revenue should be used to collect the levies, something of which people should take note. He says it is a political exercise, a democratic exercise - he said that people have voted in a certain way and we now have to find enough sugar to make the medicine go down. He has unpicked what this commission is all about.

What method was used to appoint the other members of the commission? Peter Peacock is the chair of the customer forum of Scottish Water and favours charges. He boasts that customer forums can help to lower prices but water and wastewater charges in Scotland stand at a handsome £417 per annum. Bill Emery is a former director of Ofwat, the British energy regulator which presided over a privatised water system. He is an associate of a company that helps public agencies deal with big business and lists 22 water companies among his clients. Xavier Leflaive of the OECD steers water policy in selected countries - such as Brazil - in South America. Thames Water, one of the biggest globalised water companies, states that Brazil has one of the largest concentrations in the world of water and wastewater privatisation opportunities. Despite two decades of water charging and privatisation in South America, more than 130 million people still have no access to safe, clean drinking water and only one in six enjoys safe and adequate sanitation. Based on this selection, the commission will be a complete sham. There is not a single representative from the largest social movement in the history of the State or the trade union movement. The commission's remit excludes any social implication of funding water services in the short, medium or long term and that includes water poverty, future privatisation and potential shut-offs. All of these things have plagued Detroit and the people of that city have been landed with terrible debt and a scarcity of water.

The outcome of the commission is predictable and I thank Joe O'Toole again for that. There will be charges, with sweeteners for those in receipt of social welfare or living in poverty, and there will be a company that will allow privatisation by the back door. People should note that we are holding a major protest in the city on 17 September to oppose this totally undemocratic measure and the bullying of the EU on the question of water.

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