Results 2,261-2,280 of 5,132 for speaker:Trevor Ó Clochartaigh

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: It does not seem to make sense. The Minister of State made a point about metering. He argued that metering should be brought in as a conservation measure. I have a question about district metering and how much thought has been put into that. Surely that would be a far more cost-effective way of dealing with the issue of water conservation and the amount of water that is being lost....

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: It is a valid point because, with the technology available, if we had district metering, we could see how much water is being used and whether it is going astray. Furthermore, we could use the technology to find out whether there are leaks along the system - for example, in a given cluster of houses. Surely that would be a far more cost-effective way of installing the metering system. That...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: I agree with the amendment. We should not charge people until after the meters are put in place. Moreover, we should delay putting the meters in as well.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Thank you very much, a Chathaoirligh. I think the issue of people's ability to pay has not been grasped by the Government. I suggest that if it pushes this Bill through, it will see an escalation of the campaign of peaceful protests in housing estates across the country against the installation of water meters. That will work against the Government's hope that people will back down and...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Tá fáilte romhat, a tAire Stáit. I had a sense that it was Groundhog Day during the debate tonight and in previous debates on the earlier Water Services Bills because the rhetoric was similar. When Members of the Opposition raised concerns and issues about the Bill, the Government replied by saying, "Trust us; there is not going to be an issue with charges." There are huge...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: I am doing so. The amendment seeks to push out the date when this tax will be imposed on the woman about whom I have talked. That is why I support the proposal to introduce the charges only when all meters have been installed. I also propose that we stop installing meters because there is a better way to measure water usage.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: This is only my second contribution today, if the Senator does not mind.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Local authority members also elect Senators.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: I second the amendment. Tá áthas orm bheith in ann labhairt ar an rún agus ar an leasú áirithe seo atáimíd á chur chun cinn. Sílim go bhfuil an tábhacht a bhaineann le seo léirithe go rí-shoiléir ag mo chomhghleacaí, an Seanadóir Cullinane. I have been listening to the debate most of the day and I note some very...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: There must be an election in the offing.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Guím gach dea-ghuí ar an gCathaoirleach agus ar Cheannaire an Tí, ar mo chomhghleacaithe anseo agus ar an bhfoireann atá tar éis freastal thar barr orainn ar feadh na bliana. Go dté siad slán i mbliana. I wish everyone the good wishes of the season and thank the staff and Cathaoirleach. I note that the Samaritans brought us back to earth with a bang when...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: The cost now, I believe, will be €539 million. The talk of Irish Water being good at managing costs is blown out the window there. The €100 million above the estimate in that scenario cancels out the Poolbeg saving to which the Minister alluded earlier as well. I tend to agree with Senator van Turnhout on many issues but I disagree with one of the issues she raised today...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Let the Senators not do a Pontius Pilate job on it now in blaming Big Phil. As a result, the former Minister got a lovely promotion.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: He went off to find himself a green jersey, as far as I know, somewhere in Brussels.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: I agree with Senator Eamonn Coghlan on water being a valuable resource.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Senator Coghlan is correct that it should be kept in the ownership of the Irish people, but I do not buy in to this agenda that Irish Water is only there for conservation measures and to save money and to put in place better infrastructure, and I can give a practical example, that of the cost of the regional water scheme in Connemara. Previous to this, Galway County Council, after a 40 year...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: The Minister is putting the infrastructure in place at the behest of his EU masters.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: That is exactly what is being lined up here so that those regional water schemes or their operation can be privatised in the future. My party and I will certainly oppose that. Tá go leor eile le rá faoi na costaisí a bhainean le grúpscéimeanna uisce agus mar sin de. Beimid ag tarraingt anuas na ceisteanna seo ar fad ar Chéim an Choiste. I believe that the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Hear, hear.