Dáil debates

Tuesday, 24 May 2016

Domestic Water Charges: Motion [Private Members]

 

7:25 pm

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is Deputy Ó Broin moving the motion? He has the floor and 40 minutes.

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann:notes that a majority of Deputies elected to the Thirty-second Dáil made clear pre-election pledges to end water charges;

and calls on the Government to:
— immediately abolish domestic water charges;

— establish a public water and sanitation board to deliver water on the basis of need; and

— set a date for a referendum to enshrine the public ownership of water services in the Constitution of Ireland.

I am sharing time.

The Right2Water movement has been one of the most important social movements in recent history. It has mobilised hundreds of thousands of people across the State in national demonstrations and local demonstrations in every town and parish and it has been behind a massive objection to what people rightly believe is an unjust and unfair tax.

However, the Right2Water movement is also important because it has brought together communities, trade unions and politicians from a variety of perspectives. In doing so, it has kept the issue of water charges and the debacle that is Irish Water on the agenda. A large number of Deputies recently elected to the House signed up to the Right2Water policy principles in advance of the general election. Others, often under pressure from the vast mobilisation of popular opinion, made clear commitments to abolish Irish Water and end water charges. Thanks to this movement throughout the State in recent years, a majority of Deputies in the Thirty-second Dáil are opposed to water charges and want to see Irish Water scrapped.

The motion we are debating is an unusual Private Members' motion in the sense that it was not drafted by a particular political party. It was drafted on behalf of the Right2Water movement that many of us belong to. It seeks to give a clear voice to the hundreds of thousands of people who support our aims. The motion was drafted by Deputies from Sinn Féin, Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit, Social Democrats, Independents 4 Change and others. It was also drafted to match the manifesto commitments of all Deputies who, during the election campaign, committed to scrap Irish Water and end water charges.

We are realistic and understand how Standing Orders work. We understand that we cannot table a repeal Bill on the floor. Therefore, we have to make do with a Private Members' motion. The value of the motion is not only that it gives popular expression to the will of a majority of the electorate but that its passing would put considerable pressure on a Government which, on this issue, is clearly not listening to the democratic will of the people. Irrespective of what has been said thus far in the debate on the motion outside the Chamber, I urge all Deputies to actively consider supporting the motion now.

At the heart of the Right2Water movement is not only opposition to an unfair and unjust tax but a belief that water is a human right that should be provided on the basis of need rather than ability to pay. We reject the drive at home and throughout the world to commodify the provision of water services. We do not believe domestic water charges are socially just. Nor do we believe they are the best way to promote the conservation of what we all understand to be a scarce resource. We believe that water should be provided on the basis of need and not ability to pay, that water and sanitation services should be funded through general taxation and commercial charges and that the public ownership and management of water services must be protected in the Constitution. We also believe that water conservation would be far better pursued in the first instance by fixing our decrepit and leaking water system and then by investing seriously in real conservation measures in homes, public buildings and businesses.

I imagine no one believes our water and sanitation systems are fit for purpose and that we will hear as much from all sides of the debate in the coming two days. We know that 121 water treatment plants need urgent upgrading. We know 156 wastewater treatment plants are too small and many are in breach of EU regulations. We have all seen the graphic images of commercial and domestic waste being pumped into our rivers and seas. We should ask ourselves why this is the case. The answer is simple. It is because, for decades, Governments led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael refused to invest in water and sanitation infrastructure, just as they refused to invest in our health system, our housing system and other vital front-line public services. Now, the same politicians who were responsible for the crisis in this vital service are pleading with us to follow them on their fool's course to rectify the problem. We are told that throughout the European Union and the OECD the Irish Water model has been proven to work. Thanks to policy interventions of the European Commission, we are moving ever closer to a fully commercialised and commodified model of water service provision. We are told this is more efficient, but what we are not told is the human cost of this so-called efficiency. When we take a vital public service that has been provided on the basis of need and transform it into a service for which people have to pay, only one thing that is sure to happen, and that is inequality. It may not happen in a week, a month or a year, but inequality in access to water is what will follow this failed policy. In 2013 in a report to the Department, the ESRI made clear that water poverty was a real prospect of any charging regime introduced in this State. Deputies who maintain that that would never happen in this fine State should look at our health system and the levels of inequality as a result of access to health care being determined by ability to pay rather than medical need. They should look at the crisis in our housing system, under which a roof over one's head is determined by ability to pay and not by access to housing as a right. We could go on with examples from education, child care and all other front-line services. I do not accept that we cannot have world-class water and sanitation systems in public ownership funded through general taxation that are socially just and environmentally sustainable. That is why I am a member of the Right2Water movement and that is why I support this motion.

I will take the final three minutes of my shared time to refer to the two amendments, particularly the amendment from my colleagues from Fianna Fáil. I pulled out an interesting publication this morning and was leafing through the Fianna Fáil election manifesto. It is an interesting document and it is worth reminding the House what it states. There are four separate references in the Fianna Fáil election manifesto to the subject of water. All four state exactly the same thing, that is, a commitment to abolish Irish Water and end water charges. This is the case in every mention. Exhibit B in this sorry tale of yet another Fianna Fáil flip-flop on the issue of water is its agreement with Fine Gael. What does it state? It states, "The Government will establish an External Advisory Body on a statutory basis to build public confidence in Irish Water". The Fianna Fáil manifesto makes four references to scrapping the failed entity, yet the party has signed up to a deal with Fine Gael to rebuild confidence in it.

In case anyone is under any illusion about water charges, the agreement states, "The Government will establish within eight weeks of its appointment an Expert Commission to make recommendations for the sustainable long-term funding model for the delivery of domestic water and wastewater services". Of course this leaves the door open to water charges. It is a far cry from the second paragraph of the Fianna Fáil amendment, which mentions "the minority Government facilitation arrangement which sets out a clear path for an end to water charges in accordance with the wishes of a majority of Dáil Éireann". Deputy Cowen should note that these two documents do not match; they are not saying the same thing. The Fianna Fáil amendment to be tabled this evening is fundamentally dishonest.

People in the Chamber have a clear choice. Those who honestly and genuinely believe that Irish Water is a good thing, that it is doing a good job and represents value for money to the taxpayer and that domestic water charges should continue should vote with their principles and support the Government amendment. However, Deputy Cowen and his colleagues should note that those of us who campaigned to oppose Irish Water and water charges have a clear choice today and tomorrow to speak against water charges, to vote against them and increase the pressure on the minority in this House who believe that water charges and Irish Water should continue. They have the choice to listen to the will of the people and scrap the charges. Any suggestion that the Fianna Fáil amendment is consistent with the pledges the party made to the electorate in the election campaign is fundamentally dishonest. That is why I will not support the Fianna Fáil amendment or indeed the Government amendment.

7:35 pm

Photo of Gerry AdamsGerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I commend this motion, tabled by 39 Teachtaí, calling for the immediate abolition of domestic water charges. The motion is finally being discussed after weeks of stymying of the discussion by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. Neither party wanted Teachtaí to have their say on the issue of water charges and Irish Water while they conspired behind closed doors in the partnership negotiations to push this issue down the road. It is worth noting that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have voted together on five separate occasions already in the Thirty-second Dáil to block this motion from being tabled.

I made the case at the time and I make it again tonight that water charges should be dealt with here in an open, democratic and transparent fashion befitting the judgment the electorate made on water charges during the general election. Every Deputy elected to the Dáil has an obligation to fulfil the commitments he or she made to the electorate. A clear majority of Deputies, as the motion says, sought and won a mandate to abolish Irish Water and scrap water charges. That is our view and our mandate. It is also Fianna Fáil’s mandate. Its manifesto, not once but, as Deputy Ó Broin said, on numerous occasions, called for the abolition of Irish Water and the scrapping of water charges. Nowhere does it say anything about the suspension of charges, kicking the issue down the road to an Oireachtas committee or maintaining the mechanism for charging citizens on the Statute Book.

If Fianna Fáil were serious about fulfilling its election commitments, it would support the motion before the Dáil this evening. I wrote to the Fianna Fáil Leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, last week asking him to support the motion which was specifically worded to accommodate Fianna Fáil’s manifesto position and its election commitments, but he has not responded. Despite this, Fianna Fáil has this evening tabled an amendment to the motion heralding the suspension of water charges and its agreement with Fine Gael as if this were good enough.

It is not good enough. Water charges have met their end, and so has Irish Water. That fact must be accepted and it is the rise of people power over the past two years with hundreds of thousands of citizens coming out to protest against water charges which deserves the credit for this seismic shift in politics in this State. A total of 500,000 citizens also voted for Right2Change candidates in February. It is a slow process but there is a fluidity about our politics at this time which is to be welcomed. The previous Government used its majority to railroad regressive legislation through the Oireachtas, including water charges, the establishment of Irish Water and the family home tax. All were the brainchild of Fianna Fáil’s deal with the troika. Sinn Féin wants to see a society based on equality and fairness. That means building a fair, new tax system and ending unfair regressive taxes that penalise working families and vulnerable citizens.

In the North our party stopped the imposition of water charges. We want to dismantle Irish Water in the South and replace it with a new model of governance and a funding stream that is fully accountable to the Oireachtas. We will oppose any attempt to privatise water services. We stopped the British Tories from privatising water services in the North. We will do the same when and if Irish Tories try to do that in this State. I commend all the Deputies who brought together this collaborative Bill. We want to see also the referendum which would bring about public ownership which would be enshrined in the Constitution. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil say there are no plans to privatise services. Surely if that is true, they will have no problem supporting a referendum to this effect. I commend this motion to the Dáil. I urge all Deputies, particularly those who received a mandate, to support this motion this evening.

7:45 pm

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I commend this motion to the Minister, Fianna Fáil and to all the Independents in the Chamber and those who are not. I thank all those Deputies who are not members of Sinn Féin who signed their names to this motion. I commend also those from communities in the four corners of Ireland who came out in their tens of thousands on more than one occasion to protest against Irish Water and water charges. They came from every town and village and protested outside this building and in O’Connell Street in Dublin city. They also came out in big numbers in cities, towns and villages throughout the State, over and over again. They made their position on Irish Water and water charges very clear. The Minister knows that the people are sovereign, that a majority of the Deputies elected to this Dáil were elected on the basis of scrapping Irish Water and scrapping water charges. Since the election there has been a temporary little arrangement put together by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and some Independents to frustrate and subvert the sovereign will of the people in respect of Irish Water and water charges.

Photo of Billy KelleherBilly Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Sinn Féin did not accept the sovereign will of the people for years.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Fianna Fáil Deputies love heckling and interrupting. They feel the pressure and do not like when they are being confronted with the facts.

Photo of Billy KelleherBilly Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Neither do Sinn Féin Deputies.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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They should take their medicine and sit and listen. If Deputy Kelleher sits there and listens for a second, he might learn something. This is what is in the amendment tabled by the Government today. Fianna Fáil is part of this temporary little arrangement with Fine Gael and the Independents who signed up to this as well. It states "that Irish Water will be retained as a single national utility". People did not vote for Irish Water to be retained. The Minister is talking about keeping Irish Water as it is, setting up this commission that will examine how we can tweak and amend it. In a briefing document to his own party members he states that this is about building public confidence in Irish Water. The Minister is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the people by pretending he is doing something but in essence he is keeping the failed utility.

This amendment the Government has tabled is a vote of confidence in Irish Water when the people have voted to abolish Irish Water. It also states in the amendment it has put before us, which is a subversion of the democratic will of the people, that water charges are to be suspended for nine months. Fianna Fáil knows the people did not vote for a suspension of water charges for nine months. The Minister and the Fine Gael Party know that the people did not vote for a suspension of water charges. We had a chance and have it again here today, which the Minister can take, to implement the will of the people. Water charges are dead and Irish Water is dead. That is the will of the people. The Minister can give it a decent burial in this Chamber today by accepting the Sinn Féin motion-----

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It was not a single issue election.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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-----which has been signed by several other Deputies. He has that choice but he is not taking it because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are wedded to water charges and I do not trust any of them on this issue.

Fianna Fáil brought in water charges in 2010, set up Irish Water and planned to install water meters and said this was a confidence building structural reform measure. It was the brainchild of Fianna Fáil. The Minister’s party came into office, took the Fianna Fáil policies, made them their own, as did the Labour Party, and we saw the catastrophe that was Irish Water unfold.

Photo of Barry CowenBarry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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It was his baby.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Rather than accept that it got it wrong, the Government brings in a long amendment which reads as a massive vote of confidence in Irish Water. How dare it when that was not the will of the people. Fine Gael has not learned anything and it was not listening. I shared many platforms with some Independent Deputies, in Waterford and in Dublin, who were part of the Right2Water campaign. They stood on platforms and said water charges should be scrapped, that Fine Gael needs to be driven out of office and should not be replaced by Fianna Fáil, and that we need a real left alternative government in this State. Some of those Independents have signed up to a Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil Government and are signing up to a Fine Gael amendment today which retains Irish Water and water charges.

I plead with the Minister to do the right thing. It is not too late. If he believes the people are sovereign, if he believes in democracy and if the outcome of the election is to mean anything, the Minister, his Government and Fianna Fáil should do the decent thing and support the motion tabled by Sinn Féin and others here today. Let us once and for all scrap Irish Water and water charges and then let us get on with dealing with all the other important issues in health, housing and child care which we in Sinn Féin want to do.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It just wants to scrap all.

Photo of Maurice QuinlivanMaurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome today's motion to end the shambolic policy of water charges. This motion is supported by 39 Deputies, all of whom signed up to the Right2Water campaign. A motion to scrap water charges should have been debated in the House weeks ago, but between them Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil saw to it that the democratic will of the people was thwarted and that no such debate took place.

In my constituency, Limerick, 60% of those who voted opposed water charges. As we debate today's motion, I have absolutely no doubt that nobody voted, campaigned or marched for a deferment of what they rightly saw as an unfair tax.

Today's motion gives us, as elected representatives, the opportunity to do away with this onerous tax and by so doing implement the democratic will of the people who elected us. There can be no ambiguity whatsoever about this. The failure to support today's motion by voting against it, abstaining or supporting a watered-down motion, as Fianna Fáil is trying to do, is not what the majority of people voted for in the last election. Fianna Fáil may think it can play its usual brand of sneaky double-standard politics with this issue but, rest assured, it is fooling nobody.

The provision of clean water is an essential public service that is recognised by the United Nations as a basic human right. Therefore, water for domestic usage should be freely available to everyone and retained in public ownership. Water charges discriminate against working people and the unemployed in favour of the well-off. They are another regressive tax taking vital money out of the pockets of ordinary people and, by extension, out of the local economy. Sinn Féin is a key part of the Right2Water campaign and is committed to abolishing household water charges. I am proud that this is our party's first Private Members' motion. This is what we said we would do and, unlike Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party, if we give a commitment we keep it.

Some 90% of the water used in this country is used by large corporations, but only 10% is used by domestic householders. Under the Fine Gael and Labour Party Government plan, householders would bear 80% of the costs and subsidise water for big business, setting the stage for privatisation. The current Fianna Fáil-controlled puppet Government is no better, with its long-fingered plan to suspend charges temporarily as it awaits the findings of the commission. No one should be fooled by Fianna Fáil and its born-again mantra of being against water charges. If it was genuinely against water charges, now is its chance to get rid of them. However, in keeping with classic Fianna Fáil tactics, it has once again kicked the ball into touch in the hope that charges will go away, but they will not.

Water charges originated with Fianna Fáil. It signed up to them with the troika, and Cabinet papers revealed it intended to charge every household €500 for water. The fudge of wavers and allowances, and now the suspension or deferment cooked up between the two establishment parties, are not acceptable. People voted with their feet through Right2Water and they made their voices heard again at the ballot box. Water charges must go and they must go now.

The message is simple. A majority of Deputies in this Chamber were elected on a mandate to scrap water charges. The vast majority of people voted to scrap water charges. The latest figures released from Irish Water show that people are not paying this unfair tax. Deputies elected on an anti-water charges platform have a duty to vote in favour of this motion and not the amended version which seeks to suspend charges. Above all, the Government must respect the democratic will of the people expressed at the ballot box and scrap the charge.

7:55 pm

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I commend those Deputies from outside my party who are supporting the motion. I cordially invite Deputies Kelleher and Cowen, and their colleagues in Fianna Fáil, to do what they said they would do, namely, take action to end water charges and support our motion. We will not say, "We told you so" afterwards.

Fianna Fáil was at pains to tell us over the past few days that its amendment underpins the agreement that exists between the two parties that sit nominally on opposite sides of the House. After all of its posturing last week on the mortgage Bill, it is right back being the best boys and girls in the class and is supporting the Government. That is what Fianna Fáil does when it is in government in all but name.

Strict adherence to its confidence and supply arrangement is, it tells us, in the national interest and its counter-motion of course underpins that. It is a pity that its agreement with the electorate is not underpinned by anything in its motion. People voted for what is in the national interest and for the abolition of water charges. That is very clear. They did not vote for a suspension, for us to kick the can down the road or for more meetings, hearings and reports. The feet on the street and votes in the ballot box were decisive. The only thing that is not decisive is what is being proposed by Fianna Fáil and the Government.

Let the starting point be the abolition, not the suspension, of water charges. While Fianna Fáil threw itself at every news outlet to lambaste Sinn Féin and my colleagues and accuse us of shouting from the sidelines, it should have concerned itself with what it had shouted from the sidelines. Believe it or not, I tend to agree with some of what its Deputies said previously, such as the wastage of money and the costs associated with Irish Water.

One of the best descriptions of Irish of water was that it was a money pit. Last year, my constituency colleague, Deputy O'Brien, remarked that every single day that Irish Water remains in operation it costs the State and taxpayer a fortune. He described it as a money pit that has done nothing but run up almost €1 billion of debt. He said by now we could have pumped hundreds of millions of euro into upgrading water systems and implementing conservation measures. Instead, this money has been spent on adding an expensive and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy that has spent taxpayers money on consultants fees, PR stunts, management salaries and bonuses, staff perks and water meters that have been rendered useless.

Deputy O'Brien said the game was up and that it is time to scrap Irish Water before it cost taxpayers even more money, and I agree. Deputy O'Brien made some very good points, for which I commend him. The game is up. We cannot kick the can down the road. We must take decisive action now. Deputy O'Brien was correct. We cannot afford to have water charges and all that go with them in existence for a moment longer than is necessary. We can act today and tomorrow.

The truth is that if Fianna Fáil was serious about scrapping water charges or its best friends in government had any interest in listening to what the people said at the last election, it would take immediate action and support our motion. It would not waste a single shilling of taxpayers' money any more than it has done already.

It is not that long since we had an election. I want to assure every single Member of the House that the mood of the people has not changed. They remain resolutely opposed to water charges in my constituency, Fingal, and I have no doubt the same view pertains all over the country.

I canvassed in Swords, Kinsealy and Balbriggan last weekend. It behoves me to tell the Government that it is on a fool's errand if it thinks it has any hope of rebuilding confidence in Irish Water. I sincerely hope things stay fine for those in government because the people voted to send the vast majority of Deputies to the House to oppose Irish Water and water charges. Anyone in the House who believes that people do not know or, God help them, cannot tell the difference between abolition and suspension is sorely mistaken.

We are fooling nobody if we think we were elected to kick this particular can down the road. We were not, and Sinn Féin will not go back on the promise it gave to people because we gave them our word and will be as good as our word.

Photo of Mick BarryMick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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I would like to address some remarks to Fianna Fáil Deputies and those Independent Deputies who support the Government. Before I do so, I wish to address a brief point to the people of the country. Hundreds of thousands of people marched and more than 1 million people have boycotted, either in full or in part, the water charges.

Thousands of people protested at the installation of water meters. By the end of this week, one person somewhere in the country will receive the last in the latest tranche of the one and a half million new Irish Water bills now being delivered across the State. Incredibly, a Government which has already conceded suspension, has allowed Irish Water spend nearly €1 million of people’s money to send out the bills. I appeal to every single household in this country to boycott that last Irish Water bill. People should boycott the bill and send a powerful message that they will accept nothing short of complete and total abolition.

Fianna Fáil Party Deputies say they are merely taking a different route to us towards the same goal, but they have a number of questions to answer. First, if they are opposed to the water charges, why did they not call in this debate for an immediate cessation of the metering programme? Second, if they are opposed to water charges, why did they not call for the refunding of payments made under duress to Irish Water by hundreds of thousands of households across the State? Last, but not least, why did they not call for all of the arrears owed by the households that have boycotted the charge to be completely written off? They are the households who have brought the Government to its knees on this issue, yet not only do Fianna Fáil Party Deputies not call for the arrears to be cancelled, they demand that those households be pursued for the arrears.

Many of the Deputies who will vote tomorrow night to derail this motion are supporters of the water charge. They are part of the establishment and they are representatives of the ruling class. Politicians of that kind, such as the Minister, Deputy Coveney, at least have the virtue of being consistent on these issues, but what can we say about the Deputies who proclaim their support for our motion after 12 noon on the day but change their minds again before the next angelus bells ring? I refer to the not-so-Independent Deputies, who proclaim their principled opposition to water charges, who in significant measure owe the very fact that they are in the House tonight-----

8:05 pm

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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They are not.

Photo of Mick BarryMick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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-----or not, as the case may be, to their proclaimed opposition to water charges, but who will go through the lobbies tomorrow night to derail this motion.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Photo of Mick BarryMick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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I will address a point in particular to two Deputies who are not here tonight but perhaps they are watching the debate in their offices on the monitors, namely, the Ministers of State, Deputy John Halligan and Deputy Finian McGrath. The night they signed up to join a Fine Gael-led Government was the night they crossed the line. If tomorrow night they vote to derail a motion supported by the movement of which they were once part, then tomorrow night will be the night when the full implication of their crossing that line becomes clear. One could ask whether those Ministers of State will side with the representatives of the ruling class against the movement of which they were once part and go against the wishes of so many of the people who elected them less than three months ago. Many a Deputy’s career foundered in February against the rock of the people’s resistance to water charges. Those Deputies and others should not be under any illusion that they will necessarily be the last.

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Chuir 39 Ball den Seomra seo a n-ainmeacha leis an rún seo, mé féin san áireamh, agus rinneamar é sin ar son na ndaoine a chur muid isteach sa Dáil. Is iadsan na daoine céanna a chur Fianna Fáil isteach, mar gheall an páirtí sin an rud ceannann céanna. Tá sé thar am deireadh a chur leis an gcur i gcéill agus tá sé thar am deireadh a chur le hUisce Éireann.

I have never been happy demonising or criticising the staff of Irish Water. I have no time for that type of politics. They have been used and abused by the previous Government and the new Government continues to do so. It is time to put an end to the failed entity which has been rejected by the people. The vast majority of us were put in here because we promised that to the people, including Fianna Fáil. It really is time that we saw some sign of the new politics in this Chamber, where words mean something. The biggest problem we encountered on the doorsteps as we canvassed was that people simply have no faith in the political process any more. They see it as utterly removed from them and they cannot trust a word that comes out of our mouths.

I ask Fianna Fáil Party Members to put a meaning to the language they use in this Chamber when they talk about a new era, new co-operation and a new language. I also ask them to stand with the people, not in a populist manner, but because the people saw through Irish Water and, more importantly, they saw through what the Government was doing in relation to Irish Water, namely, setting up an entity with a view to the privatisation of the most fundamental service we require – water.

I have no difficulty with paying my taxes in return for services and neither do I have any difficulty working with any Member in this Chamber on the conservation of water. We have very good experience in Galway of recycling and we led the way in that regard. On more than one occasion I used the example of where we had a wonderful service in Galway. On an ongoing basis we had a 56% diversion from landfill to recycling. In a pilot project, we diverted 70% to recycling but what happened? They privatised the service. We were the second last local authority service in the country to be privatised and we have a mess on our hands at the moment in terms of the collection of waste. I will be penalised because I have three compost bins in the garden. That is the exact same parallel and the same reasoning that was being used with Irish Water. It is time to stop and to stand together and say water is extremely important and we need to resource it and conserve it. I sat in the city council in Galway for almost 17 years and I watched good engineers and very good staff come under extraordinary pressure because of the lack of resources and money. I saw water polluted. I experienced cryptosporidium myself. As I speak, 8,000 people in Carraroe cannot drink their water. We know the facts in Galway city. We are not trying to evade our responsibilities. We are trying to take them on board and to work in a positive way.

I appeal to Fianna Fáil, even at this late hour, to see sense. Let us lead. We do not need to penalise people in order for them to conserve. We have shown that in Galway. Penalties do not work, and humans by their nature are good. They need encouragement and example and we are not showing that example. The entity of Irish Water has been rejected. Any entity that could spend €400,000 of taxpayers’ money in seeking to find out what the people of the country thought of them in various polls is an obscenity. I do not blame Irish Water for that. The staff of Irish Water are under extraordinary pressure to follow Government policy. The word obscenity does not describe an entity that could spend €80 million on consultants, at a time when water pours out of leaking pipes and water sources are polluted. I find it insulting to be told we are negative when we give a different view. The groupthink in this country is what led to the mess and the banking crisis. Many times various judges, including retired judges, have pointed out that if there was less groupthink and more questions answered we would not have scandal after scandal. We will discuss the O’Higgins report tomorrow, which has the exact same thread running through it. I happily and proudly support the motion. Tá sé thar am deireadh a chur leis an gcur i gcéill agus tá sé thar am beart a dhéanamh de réir ár mbriathair.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I wish to share time.

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

supports the need for significant investment in upgrading Ireland’s public water and wastewater systems and improving the on-going management of the public water resource;

notes:

— that Irish Water will be retained as a single national utility, in public ownership, with responsibility for the delivery of public water and waste water services; and

— the improvements made by Irish Water since its establishment as a national utility, in:

— increasing capital investment, with some €550 million to be invested in 2016;

— prioritising the elimination of boil water notices;

— placing a greater focus on reducing leakage;

— the over 39 million litres of water per day already being saved as a result of the ‘Free First Fix’ scheme and domestic customer repairs;

— the 500 kilometres of pipework repaired or replaced over the past two and a half years;

— increasing Dublin’s spare water capacity; and

— dealing with issues arising from lead pipes identified as part of the metering programme;

welcomes the commitment of the Government to establish:

— an expert advisory body on a statutory basis to advise on measures to improve the transparency and accountability of Irish Water and to give quarterly reports on its performance in relation to its business plan to an Oireachtas committee; and

— an expert commission to make recommendations for the sustainable long-term funding model for the delivery of domestic water and wastewater services by Irish Water; and

notes that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will shortly introduce a Bill to suspend domestic water charges for a period of nine months from the end of the current billing cycle; this will be extended by the Government if this is required and requested by the special Oireachtas committee established to consider the recommendations of the expert commission, to facilitate the completion of its work and consideration of, and voting upon, its recommendations by the Oireachtas.”

I am pleased that the House is having a debate on this issue.

Issues relating to the provision and funding of the delivery of one of our most important natural resources have commanded much political debate since the general election. It is therefore opportune, in my first contribution to Private Members' business in this Dáil term, to detail the actions the Government will take to ensure the Oireachtas is in a position to take an informed and considered decision on the enduring funding model for the public water and wastewater services. The debate begins in the Chamber this evening and the context should be that of Members striving to achieve high-quality, secure and sustainably funded water services.

I wish to remind Members of the condition of the public water system when the previous Government decided to establish a single national utility. A total of 945,000 people were dependent on drinking water supply requiring remedial action, almost 20,000 people were on boil water notices and 49% of all water produced was lost through leakage. The capital city, Dublin, which should have had a spare water capacity of 10% to 15% like most European capitals, had a spare capacity of just 1% to 4%. Major drinking water schemes such as those in Vartry, County Wicklow, and the Lee Road scheme in Cork were antiquated and in need of significant modernisation. In 44 urban areas throughout Ireland, untreated sewage was going into rivers and seas, thereby posing a major risk to public health and the environment. This is a snapshot of what was known at the time. Irish Water then began to uncover new legacy problems as it began to map assets and compile data. By the beginning of last year, it had identified 156 wastewater treatment plants that were overloaded. Moreover, 70% of sewers were in need of repair while the public water network had 55,000 km of water mains, that is, more than twice the average length per head of population in England and Wales and significantly higher than what was thought to be there. The problem of insufficient spare capacity was not confined to Dublin as one third of water treatment plants did not have sufficient headroom capacity. These treatment plants form part of an infrastructure that has an average age twice that of infrastructure across Europe.

As to why we had these problems, put simply it was because we are guilty of having underinvested in water infrastructure and services for decades. This is one thing on which I do agree with many Opposition spokespersons. The capital allocations for vital water and wastewater projects and upgrades competed with, and more than often lost to, other more pressing and tangible investment requirements such as roads, schools and hospitals. In addition, these problems existed because 34 local authorities were providing services and infrastructure on a sub-national basis, defined as they were by diseconomies of scale in procurement and network and asset management. This resulted, despite the dedicated commitment and professionalism of local authority staff, in often financially constrained circumstances. A new approach was needed as without it, the water services would continue to be deficient thereby putting at risk security of supply, protection of public health and the environment, as well as the water needs of citizens and businesses alike. For these reasons, the Government established a single national utility to deliver water services and infrastructure. Such a utility could plan and invest on a whole-of-asset-base basis and on a national basis.

Since Irish Water became the national water utility in January 2014, it has made significant progress in addressing some of the problems to which I referred. By the end of 2015, Irish Water had delivered 20 new and upgraded water treatment plants and 49 new and upgraded wastewater treatment plants. In addition, 500 km of pipework has been repaired or replaced. For too many people, the reality of having to boil water before using it for drinking or cleaning has become far too familiar. Last year, 17,300 people in County Roscommon no longer were obliged to boil the water coming out of their taps. This is real progress and is making a difference to people's lives and is progress in which Irish Water's expertise and work has been instrumental. The number of people dependent on water supplies listed on the Environmental Protection Agency's remedial action list of works requiring remedial action has reduced significantly over that time. From 945,000 two years ago, it now stands at 800,000, which still is too large but is reducing. Dublin's spare water capacity has increased from 1% to 4% to 10%, which is a welcome move towards the 15% target of Irish Water. Through the 835,000 meters installed by the utility, Irish Water has been able to identify customer-side leakage and to offer householders repairs under the first-fix repair scheme. By the end of February 2016, approximately 39.5 million litres of water per day had been saved through this scheme and through domestic customers' repairs arising from leakage detected through metering. To put this figure into context, the entire water needs of Wicklow in a single day amount to 34 million litres. It makes far more sense to save existing water than to build new plants without addressing leakage on both the public mains and the customer side. The metering programme also has been crucial in the identification of possible lead piping in householders' properties. Irish Water is helping to implement the Government strategy in reducing public exposure to lead in drinking water. It has written to 34,000 households informing them of the likely presence of lead piping in their properties and has provided them with customer advice on dealing with the issue, including public health advice from the Health Service Executive.

In parallel with increased investment, Irish Water has introduced new approaches to asset management and maintenance. It plans investment consistency across its asset base, rather than on the basis of large-scale one-off investments. This approach, including the use of new technologies, has been rolled out across major projects such as the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant upgrade, which has saved significant amounts of money. In addition to savings on capital projects, Irish Water has reduced day-to-day expenditure. Year on year, Irish Water has reduced operational costs by 7% since 2014. It is standardising the way in which operations are conducted and is implementing new initiatives to bring down costs. Among these savings is an expected €30 million in procurement efficiencies between 2014 and 2016. Some of this progress arises from the innovative and national approach adopted by a public utility. However, increased investment also is critical. In 2013, local authorities invested approximately €300 million through the water services investment programme. This year, Irish Water expects to invest approximately €550 million in the network, which represents an increase in investment of 83% in just three years. As a result, new water treatment plants are coming on stream and major projects such as the Cork lower harbour project now are being delivered. This investment will secure quality drinking water supplies and will contribute to ending the reality of raw sewage being discharged straight into rivers and seas.

I will shortly establish an expert commission to examine and make recommendations on the sustainable long-term funding model for the delivery of domestic water and wastewater services by Irish Water. A special Oireachtas committee on the funding of domestic water services will debate the commission's recommendations and ultimately, this House and the Upper House will consider and decide on the future of charges. This process should take no more than nine months from the end of June of this year and I ask Members to afford the commission and the special Oireachtas committee the space and time in this period to independently put the facts and funding issues before the Oireachtas. This is why the Government's amending motion must be supported. Important decisions that affect each citizen in the country should not be taken in a vacuum that will exist until the committee's recommendations are put before the House. Members must acknowledge the significant level of investment Irish Water is making. It is imperative for Members on all sides to ensure this investment can be sustained and that the €5.5 billion in capital investment Irish Water needs between 2014 and 2021 to deliver the commitments in its business plan is made available. Without consistency of funding, the legacy problems of poor water quality, inadequate wastewater treatment, high leakage levels, lead pipes and antiquated infrastructure will not be addressed and nor will supplies be secured against the pressures of a growing population, an expanding economy and climate change.

The issue of public ownership of water services is one on which people have strongly held views, as do I. Water is fundamental to everyday existence and the public has consistently espoused the idea that water services and the national utility should not be subject to market forces and nor should people's access to water be determined by private commercial interests owning or running water services for profit.

In 2014, the Government reinforced the legal safeguard against any future privatisation or semi-privatisation of the utility. The Oireachtas legislated to prohibit the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government from initiating a legislative proposal to privatise Irish Water or sell any share held by the Government without the prior approval of a majority of voters in a plebiscite and without a resolution from both Houses of the Oireachtas approving such a proposal.

I will finish by making an appeal to the House. Deputies will get the rest of my speech, but I do not want to take up any more of my colleagues' time. We are trying to allow for an informed and detailed discussion on how we fund water provision and waste water treatment in the future. We are trying to take some of the heat out of this issue by providing a nine-month window for that debate. We will get experts from Ireland and other parts of the world to make recommendations. The Oireachtas committee that takes those recommendations will not be bound by them, but I hope it will be guided by them. We will have an opportunity to vote in this House as we see fit at the end of that debate. An issue as important as water provision for our people and our country surely deserves that time window for a rational discussion and debate before we make a decision of that importance at the end of that period.

I commend my motion to the House.

8:25 pm

Photo of Finian McGrathFinian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me an opportunity to speak on this Private Members' motion on water charges. I wish to clearly outline my position on this issue, set the record straight and deal with the misrepresentation of my position. This debate is about suspending water charges or getting rid of them. Until the independent commission sits, makes up its own mind and goes to the Oireachtas committee with its final recommendations, and a final vote is taken in the Dáil, I support that process. That is the vote that counts, and my colleagues should judge me when that vote happens.

The manner in which Irish Water was set up, and its approach, remain personally unacceptable to me. I am still deeply sceptical about the motives and ability of the service to deliver. There are also affordability issues, and I certainly feel there was a lack of insight as regards people's everyday financial struggles. There are many examples of this, including the fact that families were left to their own devices with regard to replacing lead pipes in their homes, and the failure to take into account the significant additional requirements of many people with special needs.

However, I recognise that the recent negotiations on government formation, in which I was involved, have resulted in the establishment of a mechanism to review the provision of water and its infrastructure. It will be crucial for the review to take into account the position of people who have paid their charges, as they should not be disadvantaged. After that important process, I will finally make an informed decision. Over the course of my career I have fought for many issues, but none more so than those facing our country today. They include homelessness, health, care of the elderly, cystic fibrosis, education, small businesses, the rights of and services for people with disabilities, as well as many other issues. I now find myself in a position in which I have an opportunity to oversee real development and policies in our areas of need. I have a responsibility to try my best to deliver for people who are relying on me in these areas. I know that priorities must be set and I do not believe that not paying the water charge at this stage will greatly alter the situation for Irish Water. The debate has moved on and will be a matter for Dáil Éireann in due course. It is clear to me that not paying the charge would become a significant distraction to other important work. I am determined not to allow this to happen.

Like many people here, I do not like the set-up of Irish Water and neither do I like the system of charges. I was very much opposed to that. However, I think the first part of the battle has been won. We now know that charges will be suspended and the whole system will be reviewed. It will be a matter for a Dáil vote as to whether or not charges are imposed. I strongly support the principle of the main motion in dealing with the public ownership of water.

Photo of Peter FitzpatrickPeter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the opportunity to participate in this evening's debate. Once more we are before the House debating the issue of Irish Water. Sinn Féin and others want us to immediately abolish water charges and then establish a public water and sanitation board to deliver water. We are being told constantly that support for 75% of those elected to this House was based on their opposition to water charges, but this is simply not true. A poll taken of those who voted at the recent general election revealed that only 8% stated that water was the most important issue for them. Yet, to listen to Sinn Féin and others, one would think that water charges constitute the only issue affecting this country.

This week, we had a Sinn Féin Deputy on local radio stating that compliant taxpayers who have paid their water charges should not be refunded, and those who have not paid their water charges will not need to pay them. When he was questioned as to why those who have paid could not be refunded, the Deputy simply stated that the country could not afford this. Yet again, this is more of the same hypocrisy from Sinn Féin and others. If, as they state, we cannot refund water charges, how do they propose to fund the cost of providing a safe and reliable water and waste water system in the future? It is just more fantasy economics from Sinn Féin and others who are supporting them.

The motion also states that a water and sanitation board should be established to deliver water on the basis of need. Is this not what Irish Water is doing already? They want to abolish Irish Water and replace it with a new Irish Water, but this position makes no sense whatsoever. It is about time Sinn Féin and others stopped this populist charade and were truthful with the public on how they plan to fund the water and waste water infrastructure. At least we in Fine Gael have a clear position on how we want to fund this. We fully believe in the benefits of maintaining a national utility to fix, upgrade and maintain our water network. How else are we going to fund the necessary upgrades that are needed for our water network? If anybody needed evidence on how Irish Water is already fixing our water infrastructure, they need only look at the situation in Dundalk. I was delighted to announce recently that Irish Water, in conjunction with Louth County Council, is investing more than €3.4 million to upgrade water networks in the Dundalk area. Among the areas to be upgraded are the Lower Point Road, Clanbrassil Street, Dublin Road, Marian Park, Legion Avenue, Ardee Road and Castletown. The work will involve replacing over 9,000 metres of existing water mains. It is estimated that those works alone will result in a saving of over 78 million litres of water each year. To put this in context, it is the equivalent of saving 31 Olympic-sized swimming pools every year. From a financial and environmental point of view, we cannot afford to lose this amount of water on a regular basis. There is no doubt that these works will greatly improve the water supply to Dundalk town, not only for domestic users but also commercial customers who rely heavily on a secure water supply.

Surely it is time for Sinn Féin and others to take a responsible role in the future of our water infrastructure. They need to get real and realise that simply playing populist politics with the issue is of no benefit to anyone. Real solutions are needed which will work and be sustainable. I look forward to the report of the independent commission which will examine the best way forward for the supply of a safe and secure water network for future generations.

I wish to put it on the record once more that, should it be decided by this House that water charges are to be abolished, those compliant taxpayers who have paid their water charges should be repaid in full, with no exception.

Photo of Pat DeeringPat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I am delighted to speak on this motion. In recent times, we have heard a lot of talk about new politics. When it comes to discussing water, however, it is old politics at their very best. We see the populism of Sinn Féin, who are literally wasting time on this particular issue by introducing this motion. I listened to Deputy Ó Broin's lovely rhetoric about how he is supporting people in the street. I would like to remind him of his miraculous conversion in October 2014 when Deputy Paul Murphy arrived on the scene in Dublin south-west. Up to then, Deputy Adams was willing to pay water charges on some of his houses in the North. I was not quite aware of which house he would pay water charges for, but he was prepared to pay them. All of a sudden, however, we had a miraculous change of direction. Populism at its best is what we are talking about here - nothing less. For Fianna Fáil, it is 1977 all over again, when rates were abolished. We have suffered the consequences of that ever since.

The main reason Irish Water was established was that the system was not working. We now need a new system in place to ensure we have water supplies in future. Those who have been paying up to now have been paying for everything, and they are well aware of that fact. They are fed up paying for everything and they want a change.

8:35 pm

Photo of Barry CowenBarry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Fianna Fáil has tabled amendment No. 1 to the motion. The new arithmetic of the Thirty-second Dáil allows those of us on the Opposition benches an unprecedented opportunity to have a real impact on Government policy. Last week, Fianna Fáil proved that with a Bill to address the exorbitant interest rates thousands of struggling mortgage holders throughout the country are paying. This week, Sinn Féin has reverted to type. Rather than come forward with meaningful legislation, it has sought to score political points. Rather than engage, it has sought to ignore. From the comfort of the sidelines, the party continues to snipe while others try to come forward with real solutions.

This deeply misleading motion wilfully ignores the progress made on this critical issue in the minority Government arrangement between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. No sooner has Sinn Féin sought a path forward than it dives for cover in the nearest ditch. The simple fact is the motion has no legal force and requires legislation to be enacted. That legislation, as a financial measure, must be facilitated by the Government. Fianna Fáil has secured that in its arrangement. We have ensured the effective end of water charges, if that is what a majority of the Dáil wishes. All this has been accomplished through negotiation and compromise. The motion ignores that progress, and rather than participate, Sinn Féin chooses to play to the gallery. In contrast, Fianna Fáil will do its bit in drawing a line under the failed water charges regime and ensuring we have a water network that is fit for purpose. We will do this with practical actions, not platitudes.

The history of water charges is a sad chronicle of failure by the previous Government. From the grotesque scale of its €172 million in set-up costs, including €80 million in consultancy costs, to the dizzying series of U-turns the then Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, underwent in October 2014, it has been a disaster from start to finish. The then Government implemented more than a dozen U-turns in as many days, entirely undermining its own plans. The result has been a collapse in public confidence and the failure to pass the EUROSTAT test, the reason Irish Water and domestic water charges were established in the first place. The water charges figures for 2015, long before the election result, are a testament to the Government's failure. In 2015, only 53% of bills were paid with annual revenue of €144 million. A total of €100 million was spent on the so-called water conservation grant, with €41 million spent on administration costs and another €25 million on water meter interest repayments. On this basis, the State lost €22 million on its water charges regimes in 2015.

Recently in the Chamber, Deputy Kelly, as is his wont, tried to grab headlines with wild claims of environmental treason when we had set forward a clear path to end charges. His claims smack of nothing short of financial illiteracy. The State is losing money from water charges - at least €22 million last year. Not an extra cent has been invested in the water network. I can understand how, after going through the seven stages of post-government grief, the Deputy may have got his figures mixed up. However, the maths are simple. Losing €22 million a year to impose a charge that is causing massive political disruption in communities throughout Ireland is financial madness and political stupidity. His comparisons and those of others with the abolition of rates in 1977 displays the selective amnesia typical of the Labour Party. He forgets that Fine Gael and the Labour Party in power began the move to abolish rates. Similarly, 40 years on, their incompetent handing of water charges in power has irrevocably destroyed them as a legitimate charge.

It is now time to draw a line under this issue and move to address the other important challenges we face as a country. The path forward to end water charges is clear. Water was only one of a number of pressing issues to be addressed before Fianna Fáil agreed to facilitate a minority government. However, the party demanded that the issue be resolved in detail or else the Government would have immediately collapsed under motions such as this. We are committed to ensuring a stable Government and we were not willing to risk that by leaving the issue unresolved and subject to such political opportunism.

Under the terms of our agreement, as outlined in our amendment, water charges will be immediately suspended for nine months with the opportunity for an extension. In the interim, an expert commission will report on the best method to fund water services and then a Dáil committee will make recommendations. Sinn Féin, I understand, had agreed to the idea of a commission but appeared only to be willing to put one in place once it had decided its conclusions. The Government will facilitate whatever option a majority of the Dáil endorses. This is required under Article 17 of the Constitution to accommodate Bills that have an impact on the Exchequer. In this light, the motion carries no legal force and would require legislation to be enacted. The result of this agreement and what matters to people is clear: the end of water charges will be decided solely by the Dáil.

It is important to deal fairly with those who have paid and who have not paid. Earlier, before he went on "Morning Ireland ", Deputy Pearse Doherty reached deep behind the couch and found €144 million to repay water charges. In reaction to an opportunistic Labour Party Bill, Sinn Féin was not to be outdone and completely reversed its previous position on repayment in the blink of an eye. Actual policy requires a bit more thought than knee-jerk U-turns and magic money before a radio show. Fianna Fáil is committed to equality of treatment for all bill payers. The issue of whether and how to repay people and pursual of non-payment will be addressed by the Dáil committee. Ordinary home owners who played by the rules and paid their bills will not be left worse off in comparison with those who refused to pay.

The motion refers to a new public water and sanitation board to replace Irish Water. It has stated there will be no job losses and, therefore, one presumes Sinn Féin is looking for a simple name change. The minority Government arrangement reached with Fine Gael ensures Irish Water will be subject to a new oversight body and will remain in public ownership. This will keep down costs, help ensure greater efficiency and prevent any privatisation agenda Fine Gael may harbour. Ultimately, this is what people are interested in, not new names or reorganisation. If the Oireachtas feels a constitutional amendment is necessary to protect water in public ownership, Fianna Fáil is willing to explore it. In the first place, we need to clarify the wording of such an amendment having regard to private wells and group water schemes. Simply putting in place a date without a wording is putting the cart before the horse. However, I assure the House that water services will remain in public ownership under Fianna Fáil's watch.

We now have a clear route to ending the failed water charges system. It is in the hands of the Dáil to decide its future. The motion is simple grandstanding. However, there is no substitute for negotiation and compromise in bringing forward real solutions. Water charges are coming to end, our water network is safe in public ownership and we will ensure we have a water network fit for purpose in the 21st century. I commend the amendment to the House.

Photo of Shane CassellsShane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I very much welcome the opportunity to contribute on this issue because it provides the opportunity to address what has been achieved in respect of water charges during the discussions on the formation of the minority Government.

This was a process engaged in by Fianna Fáil so the Government of the Thirty-second Dáil could actually come into being. From our position of strength as the largest Opposition party, it involved ensuring the suspension of water charges and the creation of a commission to address the provision of water services going forward. This is the factual position. This is the truth and it is out there. This debate provides Sinn Féin with an opportunity to say "thank you". It provides Sinn Féin Deputies with an opportunity to thank Fianna Fáil for achieving something they like to talk about. Of course, the sniggering from the galleries just reinforces the fact that Sinn Féin has failed to achieve anything from its position so its Deputies decide to snigger and fire insults at those who have taken their mandate and actually brought something constructive to the table and delivered.

(Interruptions).

8:45 pm

Photo of Shane CassellsShane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Throwing insults is par for the course for those who are on the back foot. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien spoke earlier about the value of his party's motion. The difference is that we gave people value for their vote when they voted for Fianna Fáil because we actually secured the suspension of water charges. We now have an opportunity to cut through the waffle and spin and get to the heart of how this service will go forward in the future. This is something that Deputy Tóibín called for when he debated with me on local radio yesterday. He said that we needed a commission to look at this regime but his constant contradiction of Sinn Féin's position yesterday, including stating that Sinn Féin would not repay those who had paid their bills, was incredible. Rather than acknowledging what has been achieved, what we have seen here this evening is the usual smoke and mirrors from Sinn Féin which, in presenting its argument, has tried to move the goalposts and repackage the truth. Deputy Adams knows full well that there was no blocking of water motions here but, again, he is attempting to re-spin the truth on procedural matters in the Dáil prior to the election of Taoiseach.

If Deputy Adams was serious about this issue, he and his party would have actively engaged during the ten long weeks when parties worked to create this Government, with the notable exception of Sinn Féin which spent its time sniping from the sidelines. Deputy Adams spent his time watching re-runs of "Django Unchained" and tweeting obscenities. In that instance lies the clear difference between serious parliamentarians and those who pretend to be - those who come in here and present motions that have no legal effect as opposed to those who recognised that a Government needed to be formed and who secured the suspension of water charges in its formation. When that Dáil committee reports and comes back before the Dáil, we will all have the opportunity to address the report and vote on the future of water charges or their death. This clear process is out there in the open and the public knows that. They know that charges are suspended and they know who secured that. The problem for Sinn Féin is that it did not bother to work constructively to see that this Government came into being in the first instance and it now finds itself on the back foot.

People voted for many things in the general election of 26 February 2016 and left us with a divided Dáil. In achieving the creation of this Government, we have seen the ability to address serious issues no more so than last week when the Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016 was dealt with. This is an issue that is crucifying people and from our position as the main Opposition party, we presented a clear path to address it. We also dealt with the issue of adoption, and from our position in opposition, the suspension of water charges because instead of just talking about it, we walked across the floor and actively engaged with Members from Fine Gael who held a different position. We negotiated to secure the suspension of water charges. This, of course, is grating to Sinn Féin and others. Rather than spin that they are doing something, perhaps they could wake up and actually read what is front of them and realise that Members on these benches faced up to the responsibilities put in front of them and achieved something. There is a process in which people can engage and I encourage all Deputies to be part of a process that can see the death of water charges. Sinn Féin and others should engage in this process and join in making this Dáil work for the people rather than just rehash the same old lines and con the people with the same old rhetoric and tired lines.

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate and I am delighted that we have an opportunity to discuss it in the House because it has been discussed outside the House for many weeks. It is widely accepted, at least among the people I talk to on a daily basis, that a process is now underway for the ending of water charges. I think this is the right decision and a welcome one.

The water policy undertaken by the previous Government was a failed policy. It may have been established for good reasons, namely, to invest in the infrastructure that was so badly needed, improve the delivery systems that were needed and ensure we had water quality that was fit for purpose and that we had a wastewater management system that met the needs of a modern society. Those were all fine principles upon which to try to resolve the problem but the edifice that emerged from the last Government was ill-conceived and poorly thought out and lost the confidence of the Irish people right from the start. For me, the fateful interview by the chief executive of Irish Water on "Today with Sean O'Rourke" signalled the death knell of Irish Water as it was. This was because the establishment of the company under the auspices of Bord Gáis was done on the basis that costs could be reduced and very considerable savings could be made because of the knowledge that already existed in that entity. Unfortunately, this did not come to pass and we found ourselves with an extremely expensive establishment cost, poor reporting structures, poor formation and a rush to get the project up and running without really focusing on what was being delivered, which was what the public wanted.

Once that confidence had been lost, it was appropriate that somebody would try to resolve it. I am delighted to be part of a Fianna Fáil parliamentary party that through its negotiations in the aftermath of the inconclusive general election of February 2016 secured the ending of the failed water policy of the previous Government. It was hard fought for but the outcome was successful and we now have a process that will lead to the end of water charges and the reshaping of water policy that has the potential to deliver on the investment that is needed, the upgrade of the water delivery system and the infrastructure that is needed to treat our wastewater and to ensure that future generations have a water delivery system and a wastewater management system that are fit for purpose. Much had been said by previous Ministers about the necessity to secure investment from the markets so that we could move more quickly in terms of the roll out of the water infrastructure to ensure we are in a position to attract foreign investment and much-needed jobs because US companies depend so much on certainty in respect of where they invest. Unfortunately, that did not come to pass when the system that was put in place did not meet the EUROSTAT test. It is right and fitting that the process that is now underway is the appropriate one.

I do not want to be overly political about this but it would be remiss of me not to refer to the Sinn Féin motion. I know that Sinn Féin is not entirely happy that Fianna Fáil in opposition has achieved so much in the past couple of weeks. We have put that process in place and I can understand that this might be the basis of Sinn Féin's ill-conceived motion but it is welcome. It is good to have a debate and an opportunity to talk about it and remind the voters. I point out to Deputy Louise O'Reilly that to some extent, it is not the first time that Sinn Féin has been behind the eight ball on this. Deputy Ó Broin will know more about it than anyone because in respect of his effort get elected in Dublin South-West in light of the work of Deputy Paul Murphy, his arrival in this House was impeded significantly and as a result, Sinn Féin, rightly, changed its policy.

That is to be welcomed because there is now a greater number of us in the House who are against the failed policy of the last Parliament.

8:55 pm

Photo of John LahartJohn Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is sharing time with other Deputies.

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I do not think there is anybody else, so I will keep speaking for as long as I can.

It is appropriate that Deputy Ó Broin is the one pushing this motion tonight because he the one who has lost so much as a result of Sinn Féin policy heretofore.

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Please put him out of his misery.

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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It shows that when a bright, intelligent guy like Deputy Ó Broin is elected, he is able to bring others with him. That is most welcome.

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Somebody pass him a note-----

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy got his opportunity this morning and I think Deputy Cowen has given him a bloody nose on that one. They supported------

Photo of John LahartJohn Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy should address the Acting Chairman.

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Acting Chairman would be familiar with that constituency too.

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Clearly more so than Deputy Dooley.

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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More recently, which was quite surprising, Sinn Féin supported water charges in the European Parliament on a pan-European level, which was interesting, but at the same time it has a different policy here.

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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No, we did not.

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Now the Deputy is just making it up.

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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It supports the payment for water in the Six Counties, although it is wrapped up in a very large household charge which Sinn Féin regularly tells us includes bins and a whole lot more. The charges paid by most citizens of the Twenty-six Counties, when they have their bins, water and everything else paid, does not come close to the charges levied in the Six Counties. Sinn Féin also suggested the establishment of a commission, which Deputy Cowen has already referred to, to look into water charges, yet now that it is part of what we have agreed, Sinn Féin decides it is no longer a good idea because it did not get to deal with it. Much of that has to do with the political jockeying that Sinn Féin engaged in - or, rather, did not engage in - in the aftermath of the general election. It spent 70 or 80 days very pleased with its election results and failed to participate in the process afterwards. That surprises me to some extent because, of all the parties in the House, it has understood processes that have been put in place elsewhere, has benefitted greatly from them and often relies on the necessity to have a process to achieve an ultimate conclusion. I am talking about the peace process, if Deputy McDonald has forgotten. Sinn Féin has sought to pour cold water on what has been achieved by Fianna Fáil from our perspective. It is a bit disheartening but I am confident that by the time that process has concluded, water charges are eliminated, Irish Water is recalibrated and fit for purpose, and the focus of attention is away from the distractions that have unfortunately bedevilled this entire, sad period in our political time, the focus will be back on getting the appropriate resources and investing them in our water delivery system and in the treatment of our waste water to ensure that we do not have the ongoing and continuous pollution which has been a major inhibitor to our development as a nation.

I thank the work of Deputy Barry Cowen, both as a negotiator and as our spokesperson on water, for the work he has done in achieving so much in such a short period of time.

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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The Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit group is very happy to co-sign this motion alongside Sinn Féin, Independents4Change, Social Democrats and the other political forces and Independents associated with Right2Water. This is not a matter of us supporting a Sinn Féin motion but it is a joint motion tabled in Sinn Féin time. We are grateful that Sinn Féin uses its time in that way.

I want to start with a quote from the ghost of politics past. The contrast between the demeanour of the previous Minister and this Minister is striking. There is no difference in the content but in terms of tone it reflects the movement and the knock-back the Government has witnessed. Over a year ago, the former Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, said about the movement of non-payment that "Ruth Coppinger and her band of people [that is the Anti-Austerity Alliance] will lead people up to the top of the hill and then abandon them". How did that work out for Deputy Kelly? Deputy Kelly was abandoned on top of the hill by his people. The people who participated in the mass movement of non-payment have forced a massive climb down of the political establishment and the biggest defeat for the 1% in this country since the beginning of the austerity era. Deputy Alan Kelly was not alone in thinking that; he was at one with the entire political establishment and most of the media establishment that the movement of non-payment would be defeated and that everybody would have to pay in the end. None of them predicted that this would be the key sticking point in the negotiations between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, least of all Fianna Fáil.

What changed? Who is to be thanked for this, to answer the question that Deputy Cassells asked? Clearly, Fianna Fáil is not to be thanked. Fianna Fáil, which introduced water charges into this country, supported water charges and has betrayed its election commitment to end water charges and Irish Water, is clearly not to be thanked. I also think, to be blunt, that Sinn Féin is not to be thanked - a party that less than two years ago said it was not a red line issue for it while its Deputies were paying the charges.

Who is to be thanked? The answer does not lie in this Chamber. To be thanked is the mass movement of protests that forced fundamental change on a number of political parties and forced suspension of water charges - the mass protests, the electoral expression of those protests in the by-election in October 2014 and the general election and, centrally, the non-payment and the fact that a significant majority of people are now boycotting the water charges. The lessons are so devastating and clear that it has to be of concern to the Denis O'Briens, the bankers, the bondholders and their political representatives here that when we mobilise together we can win, that the biggest, scariest threats and propaganda from the Government and Irish Water can be faced down and defeated and that mass civil disobedience can work. It represents a fundamental turning point in Irish politics and the entry of a more confident, more organised, more politicised working class as a part of a broader left and socialist politics.

As a movement, we now have to secure victory on the water charges. There is a forced tactical retreat at play here. That is all the commission is about, to maintain the entity of Irish Water and the return in the future of the project of commodification of our water. We have to make sure there cannot be any return, by achieving the abolition of water charges and Irish Water. I encourage people to mobilise tomorrow at 5 p.m. outside the Dáil to demand that Fianna Fáil, Deputies McGrath, Halligan, Zappone and the others stick to their election promises and the mandate upon which they were elected and vote with the motion to abolish water charges and Irish Water.

It is vital that water metering is now stopped in its tracks. The only purpose of water metering is linked to the commodification and privatisation agenda. It should be stopped in here but if Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil conspire that it is not stopped, protest outside will have to stop water metering in its tracks.

The next point is to demand investment in water infrastructure. The Government's motion refers to €550 million to be invested in 2016, which is about the average since 2000. The Government will deliberately under fund water investment so it can come back to us in three or four years' time and say that it told us we needed water charges, to look at the crisis that exists because we have not invested and to demand investment.

We need to say that nobody should be victimised, criminalised or imprisoned for protesting against water charges. I welcome the fact that Sean Doyle and Eamonn McGrath were released from prison today but I understand that Anna Harvey is still in prison. We have a vindictive ruling class that is smarting under the impact of a mass movement and a defeat for it. It is out to get revenge. There is still very heavy-handed policing of anti-water meter protests taking place. We also have a ruling class and a 1% that is looking at an era of struggle opening up, not just on water charges but on housing, the repeal of the eighth amendment and the question of wages. As a result it is seeking to enhance the power of the State and normalise the idea of protesters being imprisoned for being engaged in peaceful protest. An injury to one is an injury to all. It is in the interest of everybody to demand that all protesters linked to water charges are released and to demand that all criminal charges relating to anti-water charges protests should now be dropped.

Debate adjourned.