Results 6,461-6,480 of 20,746 for speaker:Mattie McGrath
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: We had town and borough councils.
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: They will be.
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: I, too, am disappointed with the response to the various amendments and to the points that have been put to the Minister and the Minister of State today. With regard to the forum and the question of accountability, the Minister was asked directly in the last set of questions to which he replied if he had he met the local authority representative member associations. There were a number of...
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: Yes. I am coming to the issue of a public forum. What will it do? Will it just meet and wrap up the Bill in nice paper and send it to people as Christmas presents, if there will be no engagement or involvement? We need accountability. The Minister's predecessor and the Government abolished local democracy.
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: I am speaking about the forum.
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: The public utility we are talking about is Irish Water and this will be a public forum for it piggyback on.
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: Okay. I will speak about the forum. Its membership will comprise of a minimum of 12 and can range to 60. I am a member of a number of voluntary companies limited by guarantee and the membership of all of them is a maximum of 11 and a minimum of seven. Why are 60 people required on this forum and who will they be? The point I have made about the forum is that it will not listen. I am...
- Leaders' Questions (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: There is a four month waiting list.
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: I also wish to speak on this amendment and if the Government was serious, I recall I brought forward a Private Members' Bill, namely, the Water Services (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2014, in which I made provision for an ombudsman to be appointed because there will be disputes by the dozen and more. Members know this to be the case in respect of utilities, as does anyone with experience on the...
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: ----- disputes like this can be fractious and can be niggly at the start but with the situation-----
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: Yes, I am speaking on section 8, on dispute resolution, the customer and what is a customer in this Bill.
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: It just goes to show the Minister's arrogance again. That is all it does continuously again.
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: I might note the outcome. That is fine but I am just making the point, by way of illustration, of how disputes can turn nasty-----
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: ----- how an ombudsman is needed and how disputes can turn expensive. My point is that when issues arose with the county council, there always was a dedicated officer. A leakage form was available if there was a dispute, people were dealt with fairly and I salute the council officials who dealt with such issues. In this case, the customer is described in one situation by Uisce...
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: These are pick and mix amendments. We have all kinds of things crossing back and forth from Bord Gáis, the county councils and Ervia. It is a case of "Whatever you are having yourself, Johnny." The amendments appear to be an effort to introduce a catch-all mechanism to allow local authority employees to move back and forth to Uisce Éireann with impunity. The section is not...
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: I appreciate the Ceann Comhairle allowing me back in to contribute as I had to leave the House. I do not disagree with one word of the Minster's comments about the employees on the ground who have been intimidated and threatened, which is unacceptable, and the staff elsewhere in the company, even though I am fundamentally opposed to Irish Water. We all have stories about that. I am...
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: I am replying to what the Minister said. We put questions to him.
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: I accept that. We are putting the cart before the horse and this is the place to amend the scheme. There is no point in asking the board to do that unless they are magicians. It is like writing to Santa Claus and it is wishful thinking.
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: I am aghast at what I have learned about amendment No. 36 from the Minister. I am aware from being in business that if I submitted a set of accounts at the end of a financial year that contained these types of phoney figures, I would be brought before the courts by the Revenue Commissioners. It is just funny money. It is crazy. If it was Hallowe'en rather than Christmas, I would say it...
- Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Dec 2014)
Mattie McGrath: I agreed with it at the time. It was a good idea to fast-track projects. There were 17 big projects in all the big towns in south Tipperary and in many of the smaller towns and villages. The schemes were done and handed over to a private company. I cannot recall its name. What is its position now? It is probably eight to ten years into a 20 year design, build and operate contract....