Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I am aware that the investment required will be immense but the benefits for the country and for future generations will be greater as a result. I ask the House to imagine the money that could be generated by tourism if the country had unpolluted waters, lakes and beaches.

Water is a scarce commodity. The recent pattern of development in recent years has placed substantial pressures on water services and many public supply systems have little or no spare capacity and are losing substantial volumes of water through leakage. The importance of water conservation cannot be overstated. Recent reports and studies have estimated that up to 47% of all water is unaccounted for. The nationwide water conservation programme is money well spent. I ask the Minister to indicate when this programme will be expanded and how successful it has been to date. There is no doubt that water conservation, in addition to its environmental benefits, is a practical, realistic and economic way of meeting much of the extra demand for water. This has been clearly demonstrated in Dublin where, since the mid-1990s, the requirements of exceptional growth in the city have been met by a combination of modest increases in supply and a comprehensive leakage control campaign. This must be the order of the day throughout the country. As I stated, water is too precious and too important a commodity to be wasted. It is essential that all water authorities develop and maintain a record of their schemes. I am sure that software can be developed, if it is not already in place, which would provide a wide range of information and integrate the broad areas of cost, quality, operations, infrastructure and reporting required under the Bill. If the authorities fulfil the role envisaged in this Bill, the further development and the national roll-out of this software is required. Is the necessary software in place nationally or is further development required in this regard?

The Bill's explanatory memorandum states that the Bill concerns itself only with the actual provision of water services. It does not seek to take on board wider environmental issues surrounding water resources, such as pollution control and water quality in its broadest sense. What is the point of the Bill if it excludes these most important areas, which are of major public interest?

Let me conclude with a quotation from Mark Twain who famously said that water taken in moderation cannot hurt anybody. What about ours?