James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government opposes this Bill. I highlight the fact that the previous programme for Government included a commitment to introduce water conservation charges. Despite the commitment in that programme, Sinn Féin did not table any legislation to prohibit water conservation charges. Water conservation charges do not form part of the new programme for Government, yet we now see Sinn Féin tabling this legislation, wasting time and inventing a phantom to fight against rather than engaging in good faith.

It is important to remember that the legislation to implement water charges was contained in the Water Services Act 2014 and this legislation was repealed by the Water Services Act 2017. There is therefore no statutory basis for the introduction of water charges. The Government simply has no power to do it. No legislation exists that allows us to do it. Part 2 of the Water Services Act 2017 contains other provisions such as amending the Water Services Act 2007 to include An Fóram Uisce as one of the bodies that the Minister can make grants to out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. It also contains a provision for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, to carry out a review to assess the rate of household demand for water services provided by Uisce Éireann. This proposed Bill would not allow the Minister to make grants to An Fóram Uisce and so impacts its ability to function. It would also take away the need for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to assess household demand and limit the data available for the consideration by the water conservation working group, which advises me on water conservation strategy.

I will also address progress on the other water conservation measures recommended by the 2017 report of the Joint Committee on Future Funding of Domestic Water Services. In recommendation 5.2, the committee recommends that adequate resources be invested to reduce leaks in the shortest possible timeframe. Uisce Éireann has a national leakage reduction programme, and from October 2023 to September 2024, 23,416 leaks were fixed. Investment in the various works initiatives under the leakage reduction programme directly addresses resilience issues in the network. Uisce Éireann will be investing €250 million every year up to the end of 2030, fixing leaks and replacing pipes to provide a more reliable water supply.

In recommendation 5.3, the committee recommends that the first fix free scheme remain in place. The first fix free scheme is still in place and aims to help reduce the amount of water wasted through leaks on customers' properties. From 1 January 2017 until 31 December 2023, 19,523 customers had a leak repair carried out by Uisce Éireann under the first fix free scheme, with 90.79 million l of gross water savings per day.

In recommendation 5.4, the committee recommends that a more proactive approach be taken to promoting the awareness of the importance of domestic water conservation in Ireland. Uisce Éireann has sponsored An Taisce's Green Schools water programme every year since 2013. The programme provides education and training on ways to think differently about how to use water both in school and at home, and to look at ways of conserving our water resources. The 2024-25 Green Schools water ambassador programme was formally launched late last year and Uisce Éireann supports Green Schools through events such as the annual walk for water, which coincides with World Water Day on 22 March.

In recommendation 5.7, the committee recommends that the principle of open data be adopted for water research purposes and the data collected by the water utility, the CRU and the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, be provided to the public water forum and society for analysis and decision-making purposes. The principle of open data has been adopted by Uisce Éireann and the EPA and the data is freely available online.

There are a number of other recommendations, including that the conservation of water resources be embedded as a principle of water policy in Ireland. A cross-departmental strategy to increase water conservation in all new domestic buildings should incorporate water conservation fittings. These are addressed in the Water Services Policy Statement 2024-2030, which was published in February 2024. It emphasises the high-level objectives and priorities for the provision of water services, including water supply and wastewater treatment to 2030. Sustainability is one of the key objectives of the water services policy, with the objective that water services will be efficient, resilient and sustainable in the long term. Under this objective, the priorities are to ensure public water services are sustainable, climate targets are met for the sector and water conservation forms a cornerstone of water policy.

Water is a precious resource and although there is enough annual rainfall in Ireland, we are limited in how much water we can take from the environment. By only using what we need, we can all play our part in safeguarding our water for our future. Uisce Éireann's national water resources plan introduces three solution pillars - lose less, use less and supply smarter - to ensure we have sustainable water supplies to meet our future needs. Water meters provide valuable information on water consumption rates to the water supplier. This information is used to manage service delivery, plan for future demand and identify excessive water usage. The identification of excessive water usage allows the water supplier to engage directly on demand management with the occupier. Excessive water usage is regularly associated with customer side losses through leakage. As a water conservation measure, meters give the water supplier the capability to identify potential leaks quickly through an analysis of its customers' usage profiles.

With regard to public water services, Uisce Éireann must continue to communicate the importance of water conservation to its customers. An Fóram Uisce published a policy position on water conservation in June 2023. This position outlines the need for the importance of water conservation in Ireland and its priority recommendations call for a committed Government strategy for water conservation, including a programme of actions to implement water conservation nationally and the establishment of a national conservation team to lead that water conservation strategy. I appreciate the need for developments in water conservation and am committed to working with An Fóram Uisce to build upon its current research to realise the most effective outcomes in enhancing the delivery of water conservation nationally. To help drive this conservation effort, a national water conservation working group will be established to advise me on a future strategy for water conservation and prioritisation of resources during periods of water stress.

The introduction of the household water conservation charge is not in the programme for Government and the charge will not be introduced. It is extraordinary how many of the Sinn Féin Deputies never even mentioned water conservation, preferring instead, for their social media clips, to give a sense that this is actually a debate about water charges, which the Government has no legal power to introduce, as the Deputies know only too well. Sinn Féin is bringing forward legislation to prohibit something we are already prohibited from doing. Legislation would have to be brought in to give the Government the power to do it.

All this misdirection is coming from a statement from one official put into a brief to prepare for the Minister coming in. I was not even the Minister when that was prepared. Sinn Féin Deputies are deliberately trying to confuse in the minds of the public what is an official statement and what is a political decision. It is very disconcerting. While I understand Sinn Féin is reeling from losing more than 20% of its vote in the general election and is taking an approach that for the lifetime of this Government, it will abandon credibility and responsibility, what is proposed here goes to a whole new level. Sinn Féin is coming forward with legislation to deal with phantom alarm bells going off in its head. What is proposed here is simply disingenuous. It is not necessary and is a waste of Government and Dáil time.

This week, we are facing some of the most extraordinary threats to the economy of this country that have been seen in almost 20 years. These are coming from a global situation. We are facing a real risk of a recession. The global warfare around tariffs, with major nations pitching against each other, is an enormous threat to this State, its financial well-being and, in turn, what it can do going forward. We need to work together in this Dáil to deal with that threat. Instead of dealing with that threat and the international threats to this State, however, Sinn Féin Deputies are coming in here to debate phantom legislation in order to get social media clips to whip up fear and anger about something that is simply not true. Their evidence is all based on a statement from an official that was prepared for a brief. They know the difference between an official’s note and a political decision. We made it very clear after Sinn Féin came out with its statement that we would not be introducing water conservation charges in the lifetime of this Government. We will not do so.

See this speech in context