John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

If we regard water as being free — I made the point that it is not free because somebody somewhere pays for it, as does society — to the user, why would people not leave their taps on overnight on a night like tonight when we expect freezing temperatures to make sure that the pipes will not freeze? It is wrong to do so because water is a precious resource which must be protected.

During the by-election in Dublin in which Deputy Joe Higgins was elected, we canvassed people who lived in wonderful million pound houses in Lucan and other such areas. Those houses probably have three bathrooms and there were two cars in the driveways, yet the people in those houses complained about paying water charges. The solution, which is probably further down the road, is that everybody should be entitled to a minimum level of water free of charge. However, if one is living in a house with four bathrooms where there is a meter, one should be liable to pay for water used above such a minimum level because too much water, which is a scarce resource, is being lost in the system.

With regard to the EU drinking water directive, I support what Senator Kitt said about group schemes. The provision of such schemes was the first example of public private partnerships or perhaps public community partnerships. People in cities do not understand the degree to which such schemes transformed life in rural Ireland. Rather than having to fill a bath, as was done in front of the fire in the days when there was candlelight, such schemes ensured people had running water.

There seems to be a suggestion that people on group water schemes are in some way responsible for the presence of e-coli, nitrates or phosphates in the water system, but those people did not put them there — they are not the polluters. However, they are being asked to pick up the cost. It is right that the local water authority should be able to intervene in the event of a crisis where matters need to be sorted out or where management is defective over an extended period, and the Bill allows for that.