Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to make provision whereby an owner of a dwelling shall not be charged for water provided to him or her by Irish Water in circumstances where the water being provided is either subject to a boiled water notice or is contaminated by a negative condition and such owner shall remain exempt from having to pay water charges for the period such notice remains or such contamination exists.

I seek to introduce this Bill on foot of the plight of the many people throughout the country who are subject to a boil water notice or may be affected by potential lead poisoning. They face the prospect of being charged for the water they cannot drink safely. I had hoped, in the context of the CER's deliberations further to Irish Water's submission to the relevant committee last week, that we might be a little further down the road in knowing how the Government or the CER might respond. Unfortunately, in the absence of the CER informing the committee of its content and allowing proper scrutiny of it, we are no wiser about what the Government or the CER intends to do to address the continuing predicament of the people in question. Therefore, I feel obliged to bring forward this Bill. The water services legislation enacted by the Government earlier in the year does not cater for what is happening. What I describe is not theoretical but the reality on the ground. For this reason and to address the issue appropriately, I seek leave to introduce the Bill.