James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I am a little confused by the Minister's reply. For a moment I thought he was taking the amendment on board regarding the conservation of water, which should be in subsections (3) and (4). Regarding amendment No. 75, the Minister referred to the water services authority, as he proposes to call the new body. It will be cut off from the local authority in the event of the privatisation of the water supply and its management in future years. This issue concerns me greatly because it appears to be a lever with which to privatise the entire water supply. We are going in the same direction as the UK in this matter. Instead of thrashing the issues out properly at an earlier Stage, the Minister of State is now presenting a significant number of Government amendments, which concerns me greatly. It is an attempt to pull the wool over our eyes and those of the public in terms of the privatisation of the water supply throughout the country. The manner and approach of the Government in attempting to achieve that end will concern the public. The Minister of State is trying to lay the groundwork for privatisation within the next few years.