Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleagues Deputies McDonald and Ó Broin on tabling the Bill. Taking part in the movement to ensure Irish water services were not privatised and water charges were not introduced was an important part of my political life, as it was for many others throughout our communities. Almost a decade ago, I marched during the height of the movement. I also protested when I was baby, in 1990, when our water was turned off and we clearly said that babies need water. At that time, I protested alongside my dad and many others of his generation who had helped to beat those charges. The hundreds of thousands of people who took part in some form of action or other in every corner of the State will remember what we were up against. We had heard the lines that water charges were not a precursor to the privatisation of water charges. That was always nonsense. The introduction of meters and charges were to act as a thin end of a wedge. There was a large public relations effort to tell people they needed to grow up and get real. These are the usual lines we often hear when we are being prepared for something. This did not deter people. These charges were opposed and eventually beaten. It is high time the matter was put to bed once and for all. The Bill would remove Uisce Éireann's power to introduce a charge for so-called excessive use of water by ordinary households. That is long overdue.

When we are speaking about Uisce Éireann, I have to mention the extreme difficulty there is in getting information for our constituents when they do not have access to water. I have been continuously highlighting this with regard to the Rosmuck area in my constituency and with regard to our offshore islands. It is 2025 and really and truly we need to have a plan for our offshore islands. Inis Oírr and Inishbofin have real issues, particularly in the summer, in terms of access to water. I know Uisce Éireann now has a plan to try to address the issues on Inishbofin, and this is welcome, but we need a strategic plan for the islands.

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