Maria Bailey (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the work of the committee in the past four months. It was a very robust, in-depth debate. It did not always agree on everything, as is very clear. I think we all enjoyed the process because it was very informative. I do not think I have ever learned as much about water as I did in the last four months. We were locked into that room many a time. I know that Deputy Barry Cowen was trying to get out of that room a number of times, as were many of us, but I think what we have brought to the floor tonight is a report that we can work with. There was consensus from the majority of people who were on that committee.

Fine Gael has been consistent on water because we recognise the infrastructure that is needed to develop this country after years of under-investment. We need a sustainable water infrastructure that can support the modern economy for which we all strive.

It is very easy for the anti-everything Solidarity party to be against everything and to never come to the table with reasonable solutions. Whatever about general taxation being used to pay for normal usage, I think it is unacceptable for general taxation to pay for the household that wilfully uses excessive amounts. I do not think anybody in this country would agree to that.

I think the people have had enough when it comes to Irish Water. They want solutions. They do not want to see any more protests or marches. What they want is solutions and for those solutions to be in the ground. We need to be honest with the people. I heard commentary this morning on a radio station, that I will not mention, from a Deputy who is not here to defend himself; therefore, I will not name him. He was deliberately misleading people and using sensationalism to sell his story. He was twisting the facts and the figures, to tell people that what 8% really meant to the Irish people was that large families would pay for water. That form of misleading people, sensationalising and preying on vulnerable people is not the kind of politics to which I signed up. It is very unfortunate that somebody would be disingenuous like that.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett has also left us. He is a colleague in my own constituency and one whom I have worked well with for many years since 2004, but it is also very disingenuous for him to come in here tonight and dismiss the commentary by a very eminent professor, Gavin Barrett, who has spoken on many airwaves this week. He is somebody with expertise in European constitution and law. It is disingenuous to just dismiss his commentary, as if it does not matter. As Deputy Kate O'Connell said, does one search for a heart surgeon on Google or does one go to somebody who has experience who can actually advise you in these areas? I know exactly from where I would take legal advice and I do not think it would be from Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett.

I think the Deputy would also recognise the infrastructure that is required to develop the country. If I am going to be parochial, Dún Laoghaire will have the biggest growth in population in this country in the coming years. That growth has to be supported by proper, sustainable infrastructure. I am delighted that the Government has recognised that with the local infrastructure housing assistance fund and that we will be able to develop homes and communities for the people who want to live in the Dún Laoghaire constituency. It is disappointing that Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett is not thinking long term and that this is about short-term populism politics because I prefer to be honest and straight with people. I prefer to give someone a worst case scenario and to work back than to be deceptive in things and to be misleading.

This country needs, and the people need, a proper vision. They need an honest vision for the country to make sure no household is on boil-water notices, that raw sewage is not being pumped into any river in this country in the coming years, that we can provide environments that will sustain the growth that is needed and that we can create the environment for development that is needed.

I do not want to go back over the past, but I would like to outline what Irish Water has done to date, because there was commentary earlier on the wastage in Irish Water in the past couple of years. There has been a significant increase in investment in water core infrastructure from the approximate €300 million invested by local authorities in 2013. There have been improvements to water quality and supplies. The elimination of boil notices has been prioritised, with this work resulting in the lifting of long-term boil notices affecting thousands of people. Irish water has removed the threat of contamination from four drinking water supplies in Dublin for 220,000 people. It has increased the spare supply capacity in Dublin from 2% to approximately 10% of water supplied in the region. In most European capital cities, head room is about 15%.

There has been a greater focus on reducing leakage. The Irish Water "first fix free" scheme for households has resulted in daily savings of 77 million litres by the end of the third quarter of 2016. That is equivalent to the water supply to 210,000 homes. It is developing a regional shared service approach to leakage and has set annual targets. With regard to communications to households about lead in drinking water, information has been supplied to more than 36,000 households with probable lead piping identified through the national metering programme. To say Irish Water has not done anything or has wasted money does not recognise what it has done in the past couple of years. There are many more examples, but I do not want to delay the House.

I will finish up by saying this is not about victory from any side. This is about providing a water infrastructure that the people deserve and that we as a country can develop in the way that we want to.

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