Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to be able to speak to the amendment. It is interesting that the former Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, has left the Chamber. He and the previous Minister and now EU Commissioner, Phil Hogan, left us in a mess in setting up Irish Water, which I oppose fundamentally. However, I have huge difficulties with the amendment. We had a referendum on the Seanad and this seems to deny the people elected and appointed to the Seanad by the will of the people a chance to consider the legislation. The Seanad remains. As such, people that shout a lot about democracy are trying to deny it to both Houses. Both Houses debate legislation here. There is also the fact that in the region of 700,000 people paid for water. I inform Deputy Coppinger who says that we have no history of charging and paying for water that rural people have been paying for water all their lives. Many of them never had it. I did not have it as a young fellow and I am not 100 years old. We had to draw it with all sorts of vehicles, including horses and cars, from wells and everywhere else.

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