Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

Section 30 places overall responsibility with the Minister to facilitate the provision of safe and efficient water services and associated water services infrastructure, and provides for the necessary associated powers. Subsection (4) sets out a broad menu of powers which may be exercised by the Minister in the course of exercising his or her functions under this Bill. These include inter alia powers to carry out inspections and assessments of equipment, machinery, pipes, management and operating standards of water service providers. As this is currently worded, the powers of inspection under paragraph (j) apply only with regard to water services authorities and their agents and to licence holders under the Act. The combined purpose of these amendments to subsection (4)(j) is to ensure that the Minister's powers to examine or carry out inspections of water services authorities, their appointed agents and authorised providers of water services apply only to the agent of an authorised provider of water services. This will also prevent frustration of the enforcement of the Act by the appointment of agents.