Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Tá sé tábhachtach anois tacaíocht a thabhairt don phrionsabal go mbeidh an Rialtas go léir freagrach as an gcóras uisce poiblí agus go bhfanfaidh an acmhainn seo faoi úinéireacht phoiblí agus faoi bhainistíocht phoiblí. I am delighted to have an opportunity to contribute to this debate. I pay tribute to my colleague, Deputy Joan Collins, whom I am proud to sit beside. The Deputy has pushed legislation and brought it before the Dáil, and she appears to have secured cross-party support for it. I note, however, that when I expressed delight some weeks ago about the passing of Second Stage of legislation on fracking, I was accused by some of being innocent on the basis that the Bill would be buried. We will not allow the anti-fracking Bill or this constitutional amendment Bill to be buried.

We all lived through the recent general election when the three main issues raised were housing, health and water. As I have stated repeatedly in the Chamber, I am tired of people on the right accusing those of us who offer a different vision and different approaches of being negative. I have never been negative and have put forward positive solutions, as Deputy Joan Collins has done in this Bill. The Deputy is responding to the movement on the ground which begged us to lead and show a way forward. That movement was not negative either, although it has been described as being against water charges and so forth. My experience of people on the ground is that they are begging the Government to lead and create a society in which they can participate.

If anything is to be learned from last night's presidential election in the United States, it is the utter failure of the Democratic Party to analyse the reasons people were turning against the system in their millions and towards a man who should not have been supported. The message that came across during the recent general election here was that the Government was completely out of touch with people on the ground. Members of the public asked us to provide services in return for their taxes.

The Government takes a patronising attitude that people need to be punished if they are to conserve water. I have cited previously a pilot project in Galway which demonstrated that people did not need to be punished to encourage recycling. Those involved in the project recycled up to 70% of waste and diverted 56% on a weekly basis from landfill. They did so without any sanctions or reward but simply because they wanted to participate in recycling for the good of the environment. Similarly, most people I know want to conserve water. The Government cynically provided and subsequently withdrew a €100 conservation grant. I have asked what measures the Dáil has taken to show leadership on water conservation. For example, what positive programme has been rolled out to tap into the people's energy and desire to conserve water?

I live in Galway city and for 17 years as a local councillor, I observed the water system being starved of funds. Despite a 40% leakage rate, funding was not provided to address the problem. I do not, therefore, subscribe to the mantra that we did nothing because we repeatedly asked for funding to deal with problems locally and it was repeatedly refused.

Throughout this debate, people have feared that water services would be privatised. We heard weasel words from the Government and politicians that water would not be privatised. We are calling the Government's bluff by asking it to support the Bill. It has indicated it will do so but this support must extend to ensuring the passage of all Stages of this simple Bill to amend the Constitution in order that water remains in public ownership.

In 2010, the United Nations declared water a human right. It seems that we often know the price of everything and the value of nothing, as was evident in the absence of proper debate on water and water conservation. I proudly support the Bill.

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