Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I should explain the background to these amendments. Section 44 enables water services authorities, on request, to carry out repairs to service connections to which the owner does not have ready access because they cross neighbouring land. At present scope is confined to repairing connections. In certain circumstances, therefore, it may be open to being interpreted as not providing for replacing them. Unlikely as this may seem it is possible, for example, that someone might seek to draw such a distinction in an attempt to frustrate the operation of the section in the course of a dispute between neighbours in order to prevent the resolution of a problem with the service connection running under neighbouring land. In the circumstances it is considered prudent to provide specifically for the renewal of service connections in addition to their repair — and to remove any doubt as to the intention of section 44 in that regard. The amendment to section 44(1)(a) provides, accordingly, that service connections may be both repaired and renewed. In addition it corrects a syntax error in the original test. The amendment to section 44(1)(b) arises from amendment No. 78.