Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief and stick to the Bill. Anybody who thinks that the issue of water will be put to bed by this Bill is mistaken. Irish Water has published a proposal to move towards what it calls its single utility by 2021 at the cost possibly of 1,000 jobs and seeking to bring to an end the service level agreements with the local authorities four years early. That is going to have huge implications not just for the staff in local authorities but members of the public who access water services and the taxpayers. That will be a major political issue directly relevant to this Bill.

Our understanding was that this Bill was intended to put into effect the outworkings of the special Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services. Notwithstanding my heated disagreements with Deputy Cowen yesterday, his comments earlier today were absolutely right. There was a series of issues where there was unanimous agreement that we were expecting to be brought before the House in one form or another. It is ironic that the one issue that caused deep disagreement at the committee was the one at the centre of this legislation but many of the issues on which there was unanimous agreement have yet to be brought before us. That is why many of us sought to table amendments to this Bill, for example, to secure further support for a referendum on public ownership, for dealing with the issue of group water schemes and equity of those outside the public water system and to advance changes in conservation. I listened very carefully to the Minister's interventions yesterday. If he is going to bring forward those types of measures in line with what the committee agreed on we will support him on it but we will not accept further delays in those areas.

One issue that received very little scrutiny, which was central to the committee and the European Commission, was funding certainty for water services. Those of us on the Right2Water campaign made very firm proposals to the committee to ensure funding certainty by proposing a legally binding service level agreement between the State and the provider of water services for a decade. That would satisfy the Commission's requirements as well as the funding needs for infrastructure, something that the Government has not supported. We are back to the year-to-year budgetary cycles with the uncertainty that creates.

When the committee first met, Fine Gael was divided on the refund of water charges. At least Fianna Fáil, Right2Water, the Labour Party and others supported it. I want, however, to respond specifically to a comment the Minister made yesterday about the delays. He said that he published the Bill at the end of September, which is true, and that he thought it was reasonable to get the Bill through the Houses by the middle of October. The second week of October was budget week and there was no scheduling time available. The idea that a Bill such as this, even if there was unanimous support for it, could be got through in a single week with adequate scrutiny, given the complexity of those issues not relating to refunds but the charge for so-called excessive use, was unrealistic. Nobody on the Opposition side has sought to delay it. We consented and agreed to dispense with pre-legislative scrutiny. We wanted to have our say here because this was an issue of huge importance to many Deputies and our constituents. We had a single sitting on Committee Stage. Nowhere is there evidence to suggest that we have delayed the Bill but we should not have to make apologies for scrutinising or articulating our views on matters of huge public importance. On the central issue at the heart of this Bill, which has been wrongly described by some people as a Bill about refunds, is the introduction of a charge for so-called excessive use, there are still unanswered questions. I appeal to the Minister to address these in his concluding remarks because whether he is in favour of, or against, the charge for so-called excessive use people have a right to the answers.

The biggest objection from this side of the House is that the infrastructure for the future introduction of a domestic, metered volumetric charge for water usage remains intact and in the future it can be extended by this Government or another one to a larger number of households at a higher cost. That is our central objection. Can the Minister confirm that the charge arising from this Bill will be a metric charge and that households above the threshold amount will be charged for every cubic metre or litre of water they use beyond that point?

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Can the Minister provide clarity on what that charge will be because the legislation does not give us that and the public has a right to know? Can he tell us how it is going to operate for households which have not been metered because if 54% or 55% are metered and the remainder are not and if there is a volumetric charge for so-called excessive use, almost half of households will not be able to have it applied? Could that create legal problems for the State if there are two households on the same street, one of which has a meter and other does not and one of which is charged, while the other is not? These are not questions designed to delay the progress of the Bill, rather they are legitimate questions to which people deserve answers.

I note the one area in which the Minister accepted our bona fideson Committee Stage was the way in which waivers in respect of medical issues or household size would be rolled out. I acknowledge that he gave a commitment to come back to us when the regulations were at draft stage to consult us. I hope he will keep his word because obviously this issue is very important.

One aspect of the Bill that surprises me - it is an issue on which Fianna Fáil and Right2Water agreed - is that a household may fail foul of the charge for so-called excessive use, although it may not use water excessively. It might live in a very old property or involve pensioner on a low income. The water infrastructure on the property may be in such a bad state that it causes excessive leaks, yet there is no additional support for such households which might not be able to pay to rectify the leaks. As a result they could face a fine or charge for water they are not consuming. They would be more than happy to rectify the problem, but they might not have the means to do so. In all sincerity, people have a right to answers to such questions. Obviously, the Bill will proceed to the Seanad and if they are not addressed here, we will pursue them there. Therefore, this issue will not go away. Until the core agreement reached at the water committee that domestic water services be fully funded through general taxation and that there be a fully public and non-commercial utility protected in the Constitution, funded by the State to provide services for users on the basis of need, is put in place, we will continue to have these problems. I do not think anyone in Sinn Féin or Right2Water will apologise for raising legitimate concerns on Second, Committee and Report Stages and I hope the Minister will provide us with the answers we rightfully deserve.

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