Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I move:

"That Dáil Éireann:supports the establishment of Irish Water as a long-term strategic investment project that will deliver the scale of investment necessary to deliver water services infrastructure to the highest standards required to meet the needs of the Irish people;

recognises that managing our water resources effectively is essential to ensure that Ireland can continue to support indigenous economic activity and employment, including in relation to tourism, and to attract major overseas investment and employment;

welcomes:

— the important regulatory role of the Commission for Energy Regulation in relation to water services, particularly in protecting the interests of the customers of Irish Water;

— the efficiencies in capital and operational programmes already being delivered by Irish Water and the continued efficiencies to be achieved in the years ahead; and

— the progress being made by Irish Water in implementing the national programme of domestic water metering, with some 500,000 meters now installed, supporting 1,300 jobs;

condemns intimidation and harassment of workers involved in the metering programme and any other form of non-peaceful protest;

acknowledges the demanding timelines for implementation of the water reform programme to date, which have not fully reflected the scale of the challenge in moving from local government delivery to a fully regulated single national public utility;

recognises that the complexity of aspects of the previous charging regime has created uncertainty for customers in relation to their bills in 2015 and beyond;

in light of the foregoing, welcomes the package of measures approved by the Government on 19th November, 2014, particularly the measures which provide certainty, simplicity and affordability in relation to domestic water charges, and maintain a strong focus on conservation;

and endorses the Government's continued commitment to public ownership of the national water services infrastructure."

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Is there a copy of the motion?

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Do we have to buy the papers?

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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We are distributing the speech. We are dealing with the motion. The Minister will deliver his speech.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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You cannot even organise this, lads. We should have had this an hour ago.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary Order Paper will be delivered now.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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This is a disgrace.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is farcical that the content of the motion is not before the Members of the House before the debate starts. The entire lead-up to the debate was farcical in the sense that there was no presentation of any details to other Members of the House which would inform their contributions to the debate, other than what has been leaked to the media. To say we do not have the motion before us, as the Minister rises, is farcical and we should not proceed until we get the motion. We should adjourn for ten minutes.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I will get information on that. I understand the motion is to be circulated.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Can we adjourn until we get the motion?

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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You cannot even organise this.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The Minister is making a show of Tipperary.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose we continue until we get the motion. Is that agreed?

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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You cannot propose anything.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Resume your seat please, Deputy. I will call on you in a moment. I propose we continue until we get a copy of the motion.

Deputies:

No.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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We need to see the motion.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Cowen is on his feet.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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It is only fair and proper that any motion before the House would be available to Members before it is moved. That not being the case, I propose a five minute adjournment so we can obtain a copy of the motion.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I call on Deputy Doyle.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It was circulated an hour ago, at 2.17 p.m.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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It was circulated to the Fine Gael Party.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Attack the officers of the House.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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They have been getting ready for it for 12 months. One would think they would have it ready.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Some Members have the motion and others do not.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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We do not have it.

Alan Farrell (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The document was circulated by the journal office at 2.17 p.m. It went to all Deputies in the House.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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On a point of order, we have a copy of the motion.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Quiet down, please.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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This is a significant moment for the country. We as a Government have made mistakes, but we now face a critical choice. Put simply, we now have a choice that is based on either short-term emotion and anger or long-term prudence and common sense. Anger is never a good starting point for any key decision. The issue of future water provision in this country needs a more sober and considered look and, unlike some in the House, I want my legacy to be one of achievement, not of destruction. We can either create the only company capable of delivering water infrastructure for our citizens or we can ignore the problems of future generations and let water shortages become a reality for all of our children. We as a Government needed to listen to the people and take stock, and we have done that.

I am pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to set out the package of decisions made by the Government regarding a revised approach to water. I also want to set out for the House our renewed vision for Irish Water and to outline the essential role it will play in the future in delivering and managing world-class water services for our people. The key measures we will introduce and legislate for are as follows. We are setting new capped annual charges.

The capped charges will be €160 for single adult households and €260 for all other households, until 1 January 2019. There will be specific legislative provision to allow for capped charges to continue to be set from 2019 onwards. All eligible households will receive a water conservation grant of €100 per year. This means that the net cost to single adult households will be €60. For other households it will be no more than €160. Households with either a water supply or sewage only service will pay 50% of the new rates.

Metered usage can bring charges below the relevant cap. The children's allowance remains at 21,000 litres per annum and will apply to all persons resident in a property aged under 18, irrespective of whether the child qualifies for child benefit, which means children will continue to have free water. For metered bills, the charge for water in or out is reduced to €3.70 per 1,000 litres, almost 25% lower than the previous subsidised rate. The system is based on self-declaration and appropriate audit. PPS numbers will not be required for registration.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The starting date for domestic water charging is being pushed back to 1 January 2015, with first bills to issue from the first week of April 2015. In cases where water is unfit for human consumption, the affected customers will receive a 100% discount on the costs of their drinking water supply for the duration of the restriction. Therefore, customers will be required to pay only for the sewage treatment.

The revised package of measures I am announcing has significant benefits for consumers and I would like to outline these for Deputies. It provides certainty. Every household will know what its capped bills will be until 1 January 2019. It provides simplicity. There are now only three relevant numbers - the two charging structures and the conservation grant. It provides affordability. The absolute maximum net cost is now just over €3 per week. For single person households, it will be approximately €1.15 per week - much less than 1% of most people's incomes or benefits, which puts water bills here among the lowest in Europe. It also provides for conservation. With a meter, households will have the opportunity to pay less than the capped bill and they can use the water conservation grant to make changes to avail of lower charges.

Under these provisions, households that do not have a meter installed on 1 January 2015 will commence paying the relevant capped charge. If after moving to a meter, their consumption for the first year is less than the relevant capped charge, the household will be due a once-off rebate on the amount it paid before moving to a meter. This will be automatically calculated by Irish Water and applied as a once-off credit to the customer's account. This means that a meter can only save a household money.

We estimate that if metered households can reduce their water consumption by between 10% and 15%, approximately half of Irish households will be able to beat the cap and have bills lower than the amounts outlined. In fact, some people will be able to get their bills below €100. When taken with the water conservation grant, this means they likely will be slightly better off because of the introduction of water charges and meters.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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That is a joke.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Those are the facts. When we examine water charges and take into account last month's budget, every household will be better off in 2015 than in 2014 because of the considered actions over a number of years of this Government.

Let me repeat this. A meter can only save a household money. I am tired of the Opposition persistently declaring it would fix the leaks before metering. Given that many leaks are invisible, how would they find the leaks without the meters?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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You would get wet.

A Deputy:

Take off your wellingtons.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Order please.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Households now have a fresh opportunity to register with Irish Water. If a household fails to register, it will receive a default bill for €260 per annum per dwelling. In addition, such households will not be entitled to the €100 water conservation grant.

For now, there is no need for customers who have already responded to do anything. Some households may need to amend their details to take account of the fact that all children under the age of 18 will now qualify for the child allowance, rather than just those children under 18 in receipt of child benefit. In January 2015, Irish Water will give them an opportunity to amend their application, where necessary. To implement the changed charging regime and to provide those households that have yet to register with an opportunity to respond to the Irish Water customer registration campaign, so that they may avail of the new benefits and to receive accurate bills, it is important for customers to register by 2 February 2015. Households, that have not previously responded, can register with Irish Water online from today atwww.water.ie; by returning the revised application form which will be available to download from www.water.ie; or by phone from Monday, 24 November 2014.

As part of the transition phase, through funding provided by the Government, Irish Water will have a "first fix free" scheme to fix customer leaks from their front gate to as close as possible to the dwelling.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Alan will fix it.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Irish Water will concentrate on its core role and services into the future. Therefore, there will be no call-out service or charge. If householders have an internal leak, they should do what they always did, call a plumber.

The water conservation grant replaces the tax rebate and social protection measures previously announced, as it is a more straightforward means of addressing water issues for all households on equal terms and will reduce the outlay of households on water services both now and into the future. The Department of Social Protection will administer the scheme on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The detailed arrangements for its operation are being developed by the Departments, with an expectation of it being operational from September 2015. To be eligible for the grant, householders with any element of public water or sewage water supply or on group water schemes or with private wells must have completed a valid response to the Irish Water registration campaign.

The mandatory provision of PPS numbers to Irish Water by customers has been a source of particular concern to many people. In response, the Government has decided to discontinue this requirement. The new arrangements are based on self-declaration and appropriate audit. PPS numbers will not be required for registration. An individual household may be asked to provide evidence in support of its occupancy declaration as part of the audit regime. The provisions in the Social Welfare Acts which allowed for exchange of PPS information will be repealed. Irish Water will delete any PPS data already collected during the customer registration process. Irish Water is agreeing a protocol with the Data Protection Commissioner in regard to this and the process will be subject to independent verification.

The overall package of measures being put in place is designed to make water charges more affordable. A range of easy pay options will be in place, including direct debits, electronic fund transfers, payment by cash at any retail outlet with a paypoint or payzone sign or at a post office where a bill can be paid in full or in part payments of a minimum of €5.

I intend to legislate to remove the power to cut off or reduce the supply of water to premises where water charges remain wholly or partly unpaid. Instead, unless the customer enters into a payment plan, late payment penalties of €30 for a single adult household and €60 for other households will be added to bills three months following a year of non-payment.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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The jails will be full.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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To clarify the situation for mixed use customers who are both domestic customers and non-domestic customers of Irish Water, for example, in the case of an apartment over a shop or a house on a farm. These households are billed separately for both uses, with separate accounts. The charging regime for non-domestic use will remain the same as applied under the relevant local authority, until the regime is reviewed by the Commission on Energy Regulation.

As agents of Irish Water, local authorities are continuing to bill these customers until a new regime is put in place. An allowance is applied for domestic usage and deducted from the metered usage of the premises, so that no payment is made on the non-domestic account for domestic usage. The charge on the domestic usage account will be subject to the relevant capped charge for domestic customers depending on the household type. Where consumption through the meter would lead to a lesser domestic charge than the capped charge, then the customer will be due a rebate on the very same terms as all other domestic customers.

Group water schemes set their own charges and are not regulated by the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER. Group schemes include private schemes, which have no interaction with Irish Water, and public schemes, which receive their water in bulk from public supplies but manage their own networks and set charges for their own customers. These schemes will remain as non-domestic customers of Irish Water for the bulk purchase of water. The current tariff arrangements, as applied by local authorities prior to 1 January 2014, will continue until non-domestic charges are reviewed by the CER. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government will work with the group water sector to produce a new investment programme lasting until the end of 2018 and to revise subsidy arrangements so they are aligned as far as possible with the approach to subsidy for public water schemes, but tailored to the particular circumstances of the group water sector. Households in the group water sector who respond to the Irish Water customer registration campaign will be eligible for the €100 water conservation grant, like everybody else.

To avoid any doubt, I want to be clear that it is the occupier of a premises who pays the bill. Legislation states that the owner is the occupier unless the contrary is proven. Irish Water is providing landlords with the opportunity to prove that they are not the occupier by providing the tenant's details. This will allow Irish Water to contact the tenant to complete the registration and bill the tenant. A tenant must register with Irish Water to avail of the water conservation grant, to be billed accurately and to avoid the default capped charges.

I will be introducing legislation in this House allowing landlords to deduct unpaid water charges from their tenant's deposits if necessary.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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That is outrageous. They will have the landlords in the country rack-renting.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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They will be taking the little money tenants owe for water on top of their deposits.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Order, please. Allow the Minister to continue.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Prior to this, I will be asking my Department and Irish Water to consult with property owner representatives.

A Deputy:

What about the tenants?

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Provision will also be made for the automatic creation of a statutory charge on a dwelling in respect of unpaid water charges.

I accept there are many people in financial difficulty and, as Minister, I will be insisting that Irish Water distinguish between those who want to pay but cannot, and those who simply refuse to pay. Those who want to pay but are in financial difficulty, as I have already mentioned, will have the potential to avail of easy-pay options and instalment plans and to enter pay agreements, as they can for any of the other utilities we are all familiar with. Those who do not register and do not pay will not be able to avail of the water conservation grant and can be pursued by Irish Water. As indicated earlier, Irish Water will have the ability to apply the charge to a property in the event of non-payment following the passage of legislation.

As I outlined at the start of my remarks, the new capped charges for single adult households and for all other households will apply until 1 January 2019. This will allow sufficient time for the metering of all properties where it is technically feasible to do so. In fact, only this morning I learned that the number of installed meters had surpassed 500,000. A second short regulatory period will apply in 2017 and 2018, in respect of which Irish Water will submit its costs and capital plans in order for the CER to set the overall allowed revenue, approve capital investment levels and set the tariffs for non-domestic customers. It will be open to the CER to reduce the per-unit price of €3.70 per 1,000 litres after 2016 in the context of determining the allowed revenue and efficiency challenges for 2017 and 2018.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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I am sure they will. They normally do.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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During the period to the end of 2018, better data on consumption patterns for different household types will be gathered to inform future pricing arrangements, and further cost efficiencies will be secured. The Government is determined that charges will always remain affordable. Average charges will continue to be kept low through ongoing subvention to Irish Water. The legislation I will introduce will ensure that charges after 1 January 2019 will be capped.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister cannot say that for another Government. He cannot decide that.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Government has consistently stated that water services will remain in public ownership.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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Like the bin services.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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This principle was enshrined in the Water Services Act 2007 and reaffirmed in the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013. The 2013 Act prohibits the shareholders of Irish Water - namely, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Minister for Finance and the board of Irish Water - from disposing of their shares.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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They will be worthless.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Government believes that public ownership of water services is the will of the Irish people and I propose to legislate to ensure that, if any future Government sought to change this position, it would be required to put this matter before the people in a plebiscite.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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That law can be repealed.

A Deputy:

The next Government can change that.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Working closely with my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Alex White, I will shortly move to put in place a unitary board combining Irish Water with its parent company, Ervia. The new board will provide for stronger governance and improved setting of strategic objectives.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Contaminate them too.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Tomorrow, there will be an advertisement to this effect on the website www.stateboards.ie. The Government will be establishing a new public bill-payers' forum to advise Irish Water on service expectations and provide valuable feedback on investment priorities. I want Irish Water to be a totally customer-focused and customer-friendly organisation.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Wishful thinking.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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On that basis, I welcome the decision of the board not to proceed with the performance-related pay award mechanism for 2013 and 2014.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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We call them bonuses.

A Deputy:

What about the lads in SIPTU?

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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What about SIPTU?

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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A pay model review will be the number one priority for the new board that the Government is now going to put in place.

The previous system of providing water services through local authorities was not working properly, despite their best efforts.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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They did a good job until the Government broke them. Tell that to the local authorities.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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They did not support them. They left them high and dry.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Local authorities were absolutely restricted in their ability to borrow, so they could not invest adequately in the system. Decisions on investment were slow, bureaucratic and inefficient. Planning for new water services largely stopped at the county boundary, so there was little opportunity to achieve economies of scale on a regional, sub-regional or national basis.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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That is not true. We are getting water from County Waterford.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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We see the results in almost every city, town and county across this country today. There are major issues around the quality of water supply and the capacity of the existing system to supply treated water in the quantities needed by households, businesses and industry. For example, there are more than 20,000 people on boil-water notices and almost 1 million more depend on drinking water supplies that are at risk of failing the required standards.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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There are hundreds of thousands receiving hard water.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Is this acceptable? Almost half the water treated - at significant cost - runs off in leaks and is unaccounted for.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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You did not fix one pipe.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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In Dublin, more than 800 kilometres of pipe is over 100 years old. This is unsustainable. There is insufficient supply for the greater Dublin area. Most major European cities have a spare capacity of approximately 15% to 20%. Dublin has a surplus capacity of only 1% to 4%. We have all seen the results of that in recent years and what it has cost this city. There are 42 towns where raw sewage literally runs into our rivers and seas untreated, including Arklow, Cobh, Youghal and Bundoran.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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Will they be charged the full amount?

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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We often talk in this House about the importance of tourism. In 2015, this will lead to swimming bans on some of our beaches during the most important months of the year for tourism. By way of example, there are 22 households that are at a cumulative level leaking over 1 million litres a day into their driveways. That is enough to serve the needs in one day of a town the size of Gorey. These leaks would only have been found using the meters the Opposition thinks we do not need.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has the floor. I want no more interruptions.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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To address these legacy issues, to invest for the future and to provide consistent customer service across the country, Irish Water needs to invest around €600 million every year. It has to be able to do this itself independently of the Government of the day so that it is not in the same queue as hospitals, schools and welfare benefits for funds. Throughout our deliberations, we have been careful to ensure that Irish Water's cost base, revenue and Government subventions are structured so that it continues to qualify under EU rules as a "stand-alone" market corporation. If we failed to achieve that, the enormous annual cost of the investment needed in our water services would fall back on the Exchequer. We will achieve this by exempting Irish Water from local authority commercial rates. This will reduce the subvention required and more than compensate for the loss of income because of the new charges. Local authorities will be compensated directly by my Department for the loss in rates revenue.

As a result of the strategic approach we are taking, the CER has approved Irish Water's capital spending programme to the end of 2016 and the company is working on a five-year investment plan and a 25-year plan. Priorities include water for the midlands and the greater Dublin area. This is a major project to secure future supply for the majority of our population. Otherwise, this city will literally begin to run out of water. It is my aim to announce the details of this project in the first half of next year. Another priority is addressing "boil water" notices. In the very near future, for the first time in many years, people in Roscommon will be able to drink water from their tap. What did previous Governments do about that? The answer is absolutely nothing. Another priority is the Ringsend treatment facility upgrade. In this one project alone Irish Water through its expertise will save the full costs of its establishment. This is a saving of €170 million. It was previously priced at €350 million.

Very few people can or would buy or build a house without a mortgage. Paying for each brick out of their monthly pay cheque would not be sensible. Investment runs on finance, especially when it comes to water which requires huge capital. I will give some other examples of borrowing by our State utilities. The ESB borrowed €7 billion over seven years and invested in our electricity infrastructure. That is the same infrastructure that allows the running of data centres and other key multinational employment centres. We have some of Europe's best infrastructure for electricity. Similarly, Bord Gáis inherited the completely outdated infrastructure of Cork Gas, Limerick Gas and Dublin Gas. By creating a national utility that could borrow and invest in the infrastructure, we now have a modern and efficient gas system.

I have previously acknowledged that we made mistakes. I have also acknowledged that Irish Water itself made many mistakes. To date, the Government and Irish Water have been operating to demanding timelines that underestimated the scale of the endeavour in moving from delivery by local government to a fully regulated public utility in such a short space of time. In short, we tried to do in three years what other countries did in five to ten years. In advance of the completion of the metering programme, the charging regime was overly complex, it was not well understood by the public and it created uncertainty for customers regarding their bills in 2015 and beyond. However, the package I am announcing today corrects those mistakes. It gives every citizen of goodwill - every customer of Irish Water - a firm, fair and affordable basis on which to move forward to a better future where we will have a national water utility that will be a world leader in its field and of which we can be proud.

This package will be seen as fair by the vast majority of our people. It will be accepted as fair by the many people who have borne a burden of austerity but who aspire to a better life for themselves and their families and indeed a better Ireland for all future generations.

This is a new beginning for Irish Water but, above all, for their customers and potential customers. The key principles we are delivering on today are certainty, simplicity and affordability. I have listened very carefully to the people of Ireland.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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You took a long time.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Lessons have been learned. We must now move forward and resume our focus on the real challenges that remain - jobs for our young people, sharing the benefits of the recovery fairly and across all regions of the country, providing more social housing and developing a fairer taxation system that supports jobs and enterprise.

Unlike some in this House, and as I stated earlier, I want my legacy to be one of achievement, not destruction, and to take decisions that are defined by the long-term needs of the country and the needs of future generations and not by the electoral cycle.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Order please. The Minister to conclude.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The country got into an economic mess because previous Governments did little else but focus on the next election.

The Government has been focused on getting the country out of the mess created by the Members opposite.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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You made some mess of Irish Water.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Of course, we have made mistakes as a Government.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent)
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This is your own mess.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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While we have made mistakes, setting up Irish Water was not one of them. I ask the people to give this package a fair hearing and examine it in the context of the budget announced last month. Many of these measures are underpinned by legislation that will be progressed and brought to the House before the end of the year.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Will we have time for debate on it?

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Time will be set aside for a full debate on all of these measures. I commend them to the House. I aslo commend the motion.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am glad to hear the ten point climb-down has nothing to do with electoral cycles. I welcome the opportunity to address the House in response to the massive climb-down the Government has announced in the motion. The former Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd, was correct when he said the setting up of Irish Water had been an unmitigated disaster. It is a pity, however, that it took him 11 months to say it. Public confidence in Irish Water and the Government is shot. Confidence has to be restored by finding a system that can deliver proper water infrastructure and quality water to the people who are already contributing through their taxes.

I want this debate to be constructive, unlike that held last year, when the Government rammed through the Water Services Bill 2013. It is incumbent on us to inform the House about the context in which today's announcement was made, examine what the announcement offers and set out reasonable and constructive alternatives that could still be pursued. Given that the 2013 Bill was passed on Second Stage in this House on 19 December 2013 after three and one quarter hours of debate, the much leaked clarity and certainty which the Taoiseach said would be provided today and which he said he was fed up explaining after answering questions more than 50 times have been a long time coming.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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There is a backwash in the pipes.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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During that guillotined debate there was not a peep from the Government side about the level at which the charges would be set.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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They were in a coma.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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It refused to accept the need for an ability to pay clause or that the Irish Water model would be too cumbersome and would end up costing the taxpayer more, particularly given that the service level agreements left local authorities in charge of servicing and repairing infrastructure for the following two decades. It should never be forgotten that the Fine Gael and Labour Party Members who voted for the Bill also voted to cut to a trickle the supply of water to those who would not or could not pay.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The sick and the vulnerable.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Thankfully, that ludicrous decision has been overturned. During that debate and subsequently the Government failed to listen. It planned to appoint a regulator who would deal with the water charges issue. It was initially confident that the problem of perception about the level of charges could be kept at arm's length. I wonder what the Commission for Energy Regulation thinks of its role today in the light of what it was asked to do this time last year. Is the commission not supposed to act in the interests of the public and consumers?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Allegedly.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Since the Government carried through its threat to establish Irish Water, it has rarely been out of the headlines. We have seen the recruitment of former CEOs of various county councils, as well as retired staff who had received lump sums from the public sector before being recruited on large salaries. All of this happened even before the infamous bonus culture was reported or it was let slip that Irish Water had spent €85 million on outside consultants by 10 January 2014. When the former Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Mr. Phil Hogan, was asked whether he had cleared that expenditure, he said he did not micro-manage Irish Water. However, the notes released following a freedom of information request proved that he had been well aware of the content of the proposal on outside consultants because he had signed off on them in 2012. It is clear that the former Minister and the entire Government treated the Oireachtas with disdain. When one treats the Oireachtas with disdain, one treats the public with disdain. The Government has created a situation where many would say our very democracy is under threat because of its arrogance, stupidity and determination to create a gold-plated, bonus driven super-quango which is not accountable to the Oireachtas. The most regrettable scenario has now emerged where Ministers are unable to go about their normal business. That is unacceptable, but it could have been avoided if the Government had listened to what was said in this House 12 months ago.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Willie O'Dea should not be nodding his head because he created the mess.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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You created your own mess.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The former Minister of State, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd, eventually shed crocodile tears, but it was only after he had been demoted that he described Irish Water as an unmitigated disaster. The horses had already bolted. More recently, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste disagreed with him when they claimed Irish Water was having teething problems. When the Opposition raised the fact that the budget did not adequately deal with people's inability to pay the water charges as then proposed, the Minister for Finance said the Opposition was scratching for an issue. They have been scratching the last few hairs on their heads trying to deal with the issue since. There was another great understatement when the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government wheeled out the CEO of Irish Water to apologise for everything that had gone before.

We had warned about the prevalence of duplication, triplication and waste of taxpayers' money in Irish Water, but it was to no avail. The Government ploughed on regardless, even when its own backbenchers began to express concern in recent months. It has form with this type of arrogance and defiance. We saw this in the context of medical cards, in respect of which the Government denied for 18 months that a cull was ongoing. It was only when it went before the people that it understood what they had thought about the cull. The Government has announced at least ten U-turns since last December. It abandoned the need for PPS numbers and, it appears, meters.

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Wrong again. The Deputy wrote the script too early.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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It is introducing caps on allowances for the next four years.

As Buzz Lightyear, also known as the Minister for Finance, said, these measures will possibly extend beyond that timeframe. It will surely turn out to be "to infinity and beyond." If that is the case, there will not be much conservation of water. It defies all rationale for the introduction of water charges that no conservation is being achieved.

The other main reason for the introduction of water charges, we were told, was to facilitate investment in water infrastructure, an issue in respect of which the Government has wrongly accused previous Administrations of neglect. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some €5 billion was invested in water infrastructure between 2000 and 2011, as Deputy Gabrielle McFadden will see if she checks the record.

Gabrielle McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Is the Deputy feeling hurt?

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Government's determination to establish Irish Water has cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of euro. It has stalled any progress in infrastructure provision. As others pointed out while the Minister was speaking, €700 million was spent on setting up Irish Water and the procedure for the installation of meters.

John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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How are those e-voting machines doing?

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Not one cent was invested in the ground or any pipe. Following its series of U-turns, the Government has created he most inefficient billing method in the western world, which involves the Department of Social Protection administering a bizarre €180 million cash rebate scheme. The income from all of this will be €90 million. In addition, the Government has spent nearly double that amount on consultants. No wonder the people are disillusioned and disgusted by politics in this country. There is a fundamental lack of honesty on the part of the Government which has moved the deck chairs so many times on this issue that people cannot believe what Ministers say either in this Chamber or outside it. In April the Taoiseach said the maximum amount families would pay in water charges would be €240. Of course, this was before the local elections, when Ministers wanted to manage expectations and let on everything would be all right on the night. However, the Government's friend, the regulator, let it down again on 13 September when it confirmed that the cost would be €500 or more.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The regulator did not say that.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, it did. That was the figure given for four person households. Members opposite should look it up and do the maths.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The numbers were agreed with the troika.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach told us that he did not agree with a bonus culture and that those days were gone. Within days of that statement, the CEO of Irish Water confirmed that all of its staff had a bonus incentive included in their contracts. The Taoiseach also said charges would be fair and that children would have a free allowance, neither of which came to pass in the course of these famous U-turns. This is the Taoiseach who wants Ireland to be known as the best little country in the world in which to do business. No business person anywhere in the world would agree that investing €750 million in a white elephant and getting a return of €90 million is good business. No other functioning democracy would countenance the hames the Government has made of this. The Government concentrated on what it saw as the big picture of investing in infrastructure, while deflecting from the advice contained in the report it had commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers. It deflected that advice and what it was being told by the Opposition, its own backbenchers and, most importantly, the people.

There has been no analysis of the billions of euro that apparently need to be spent in the system. That figure seems to have been plucked from the sky. Two or three weeks ago the Taoiseach said in this House that €20 billion was required. Last week he said it was €10 billion. On the radio last night a Government Deputy was referring to €20 million. This debate should not conclude until such time as somebody with eminent qualifications or independent authority can inform the House of exactly what has to be spent, where it needs to be spent, how long the process will take and what system can be put in place. It is not good enough for this entity, this monster that is Irish Water, not to have a five year plan in place and to be still in a consultation phase in respect of its 25 year strategic plan. It is not good enough for the Taoiseach to talk about figures of €10 billion and €20 billion. We must have the facts on the table. The record will show that, with others, I have sought these facts since the first proposals were brought before the House. We sought an audit of the networks for rectification and reinstatement works - a clear setting out of what was to be done, how it was to be done and how much it would cost. We still do not have that information and that is not good business. We cannot run around the world saying this is the best small country in which to do business when we cannot even put that information on the table. The debate should not conclude until such time as it is placed before the House.

We do not know whether the first fix policy will cover lead pipes. I pause to observe that the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, has left the Chamber. The debate has not been guillotined, but the Minister has no interest in taking part in it. I said at the outset that I wanted this debate to be different from what went before. I want people to see that the democratic process is better than the Government wants us to believe it is. There should be a collective effort on the part of every Member of the House to resolve this issue properly and effectively. Maybe then the democratic process would be recognised by the public as something that works. After we have waited for 11 months and three weeks for everything to be put in front of us in such a way that we might begin to understand and question it, we see that the Minister with responsibility for the issue has walked out. He is nowhere to be seen.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Order, please. Deputy Barry Cowen has the floor.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I will go so far as to seek an adjournment of the Dáil until the Minister with responsibility for this matter returns to the Chamber to hear what we have to say. I assume the Minister has left to brief the media. His ministerial colleagues do not seem to know. One would have assumed they would know and have prepared properly and adequately for this debate. The Minister has been briefing the media for the past week. We walked out of a debate on this matter once before because of the disdain with which the Government had treated the Oireachtas. If it wants to treat us with disdain again, it also will be treating the public with disdain. The Minister with responsibility should be here to represent the motion before the House. He should be here to listen to constructive alternatives and opposition.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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We have not heard any constructive proposal.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Perhaps then we might have a proper debate.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There are four Ministers here willing to listen to the Deputy's proposals.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Order, please. I am calling Deputy Micheál Martin.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I propose that the debate be adjourned until the Minister returns to the House.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will have an opportunity to speak presently. I have called Deputy Micheál Martin.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is unbelievable the Minister has left the Chamber. We had the same on budget day. There has been a lot of talk about upholding and underpinning parliamentary democracy, but what the Minister has done is contemptuous of the House. I appeal to Ministers opposite and the Chief Whip in particular to bring the Minister back into the House. Pending this, I propose that the debate be adjourned.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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We have been asking for months for details around this whole fiasco of water charges and Uisce Éireann. The Taoiseach promised us that there would be a full debate, that we would get all of the answers and that there would be clarity. What we have seen, however, is the Taoiseach and the Minister leaving the Chamber before the Fianna Fáil Party spokesman has even finished his contribution.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The Tánaiste left too.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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It is despicable. We should adjourn the debate until the Minister returns.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies for their proposals. However, under Standing Orders, the debate is to be adjourned at 10 p.m. I cannot adjourn the House until that time.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Leas-Cheann Comhairle could suspend the sitting.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Leas-Cheann Comhairle agree to a suspension in order to protect the integrity and dignity of the House? We will not put up with what is happening.

4 o’clock

The least the Leas-Cheann Comhairle should do is to suspend the sitting in order to protect the integrity and dignity of the House. Otherwise, I do not think we are going to hang around here too much longer to be insulted in the manner in which the Minister has insulted us.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The contempt with which the Minister and the Government are treating the elected representatives of the people is breathtaking.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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He is looking to his legacy.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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He started by saying this was a very important day for the country because of the proposals on Irish Water and water charges he was introducing. Then he walked out and left the representatives of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people to speak to thin air, as far as he is concerned. He has come in with his array of political trickery to try to convince the people that something fundamental has changed, but people know he is just putting off the evil day when the price of water will rapidly increase, at any time his or a future Government should choose. It will happen, and people will not be taken in by the Minister.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Suspend the House.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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I have no doubt he has gone to the media to sell his snake oil trickery in order to get out before the Opposition, as if the Government has not had enough access, over the past 24 hours, to all its favourite journalists, spinning and leaking everything the Minister said here today to get the story out first. It is unacceptable, and the Minister should be sent for immediately.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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Suspend the House.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Too many Deputies are on their feet. I was in the House at 10.45 a.m. when I took over from the Ceann Comhairle, and the Chief Whip read out the Order of Business, which was agreed to.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Suspend the House.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Suspend the House.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Suspend the House.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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It was ordered that the debate would adjourn at 10 p.m. The Chief Whip made the order.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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Suspend the House.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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This is grandstanding and play-acting of the highest order.