Results 12,921-12,940 of 13,214 for speaker:Pat Gallagher

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This amendment inserts an additional subsection into section 70 and arises from the series of amendments in section 2 to streamline and clarify the distinction between drains, sewers and service connections. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that all pipes and drains on a premises come within the scope of section 70.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: These are technical amendments to expand the definition of both "water supply meters" and "waste water discharge meters" to facilitate the introduction of data loggers or transponders for data collection and remote reading by radio. They reflect the most modern developments in metering technology.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Section 72 provides for the basic authority to provide water services by meter. It enables a water services provider to supply water by meter and measure the volume or rate of discharge of water via a meter. Amendments Nos. 152 and 153 will clarify beyond doubt the intent of paragraphs (c) and (d) in subsection (1). These paragraphs enable a water services provider to require a customer to...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I have been invited by Senator McCarthy to repeat my earlier statement and I am pleased to do so. The Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1997 precludes the charging of domestic users for water services. This is in line with Government policy and there is no intention to change it. Existing legislation provides for the charging of commercial users and this is well accepted by all...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This Bill does not deal with charges. Even if I were inclined to respond positively to the Senator's suggestion that schools should be exempt, it is not the appropriate Bill. There is no mechanism in this legislation to deal with that. Perhaps I did not clarify this sufficiently in my first response. I want to make it clear that metering will be for non-domestic users. There is no intention...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I am merely repeating what I said to Senator Paddy Burke. There is no opportunity in the Water Services Bill 2003 to allow me, the Government or the Opposition to introduce an amendment to exempt the institutions mentioned by the Senator from water charges. Absolutely nothing can be done. Lest I am giving the wrong impression, there is no intention to do that. In my earlier contribution I...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As far as agriculture is concerned, Senator Bannon is quite right. Agriculture is non-domestic and users pay a water charge. There is no demand by the rural water section of my Department, and no instruction has gone out, to ensure that group water schemes or the individuals in such schemes are metered. I am quite definite about that. I cannot accept this amendment. It has as its basis the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This amendment is necessary to address situations where the volume of water used by a customer may differ from the volume of water supplied by a water services authority. The volume of water used may be affected by other factors such as leakage or illegal connections which are beyond the point of metering. In the circumstances the word "supplied" reflects more accurately the purpose of...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I thank Senator McCarthy for tabling his amendment. I have been advised by the Office of the Attorney General that Senators are correct in that the Irish title of the National Rural Services Committee should be included in the Bill. However, as we are discussing the English language version of the Bill, as is practice, the committee will be known by the English version of its name as is the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Section 79 requires all water service providers other than a water services authority or its agent to be licensed subject to such classes of exception as the Minister may prescribe. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that the introduction of modern design-build-operate procurement arrangements to the rural water sector will not cause confusion as to whether the contractor or...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This is a technical amendment to correct a typographical error.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This amendment replaces and expands the original section 92 to enable water services authority powers of direction in relation to connections to be applied not just to group water services schemes, but to individual water service consumers. It also provides for additional appeals provisions and introduces new provisions on future maintenance arrangements on shared connections to services. The...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The insertion of a provision restricting agreements under this section to fixed charge agreements is unnecessarily restrictive and pre-empts any ongoing development in public procurement policy. The purpose of this section is to enable a water services authority to enter into an agreement with a person to provide water services infrastructure with a view to that person subsequently...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Section 51 provides for the powers of a water services provider to temporarily interrupt services for maintenance purposes or where there is a risk to human health or the environment. The first of these amendments removes the seven day, prior notice stipulation from subsection (3) in regard to planned interruption of water services. It is not considered appropriate on a practical, operational...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The purpose of this amendment is to ensure the powers under section 52 to recover sums due can be duly assigned to any person performing a function under the Act. Section 52 provides generally that a county or city council acting in its capacity as a water services authority or its agent may recover any sum due to the authority either through the courts or by deduction from any other moneys...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I am referring to any debt that would be due to a county or city council acting in its capacity as a water services authority. Section 52(6) enables the Minister to assign his powers to others, such as a group water scheme or contractors, to recover debts over and above the water services authority. This amendment provides the mechanism — nothing more, nothing less — for them to do so.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: There is no domestic water charge.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: It would have been foolish of me to expect to go through 50 sections of the Water Services Bill without reference to water charges. I am delighted to confirm that there are no domestic water charges and the Government does not intend introducing them, whether Senator Bannon welcomes this or not. The Bill does not contain any provisions for the introduction of water charges. Instead, primary...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The record of the debate will show that I said there are no domestic water charges. There are water charges for supply in other areas. I do not know what is the Fine Gael Party's policy on this but the Government does not intend——

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The Bill will not be used as a vehicle to introduce charges. While, there are, rightly, charges for certain supplies, there are no domestic water charges.