Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

I propose to cite comments published in the Irish Examiner of 28 June 2010:

I'm against water charging. Water is a necessity. I've always believed essential services such as water should be delivered as a public service.

I believe the speaker, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, sits at the Cabinet table of a Government that is introducing water charges. It is no wonder members of the public are cynical. My concern is the establishment of the proposed Irish water authority. While the Government has stated the new body will create 2,000 new jobs, it has not indicated what will happen to the 3,600 local government employees who currently provide water services.

The Minister of State need only cast his eyes a few miles north of his constituency to see the disaster which occurred under the supervision of the Northern Ireland water authority during last winter's big freeze. In contrast to this part of the island where water supplies were affected but the problems were addressed effectively once identified, Norther Ireland Water did not have sufficient staff or resources on the ground to deal with the issue.

Once the proposed water authority has been established, what will local authorities do? The National Roads Authority has assumed responsibility for a large proportion of the road network previously managed by local authorities, while the Health Service Executive has assumed responsibility for health services. I am not a great fan of the HSE because while it has worked in some areas, it has failed in others. Its establishment resulted in the removal of powers from local officials and democratically elected public representatives. We now face the prospect of responsibility for water being removed from local government. As a county manager stated in Monday's edition of The Irish Times, what will be left for local authorities to do? They will have little do because we are centralising more and more services and moving in a direction that is the reverse of what the European Union tells us we should do.

Arguments can be made for and against the establishment of a water authority. Local officials and council employees know exactly where a problem is when they hear of an issue in a certain area and are able to deal with it effectively. Sending some guy in a van from Cork to deal with a water problem in Kenmare will not work because he will not have local knowledge. We all know the importance of such knowledge.

People in rural areas are to be required to pay thousands of euro to replace septic tanks they have legally installed. What will happen in respect of group water schemes? Many groups have come together to establish a water supply. While they may have received a little Government assistance, it was not a hell of a pile. They paid the initial set-up costs and continue to pay an annual maintenance fee. Will they be told that having paid for their water supply, unlike people living in cities who did not pay a penny towards their water supply, everyone will be treated the same and they will be required to pay for water they have essentially paid for? Will people living in rural areas who had to drill their own wells to secure a water supply be asked to meter their own water? They too spent thousands drilling into the earth to secure a water supply for their families. Having paid for and maintained this supply on the basis that the Government would not provide them with water, will they be asked to pay for it again?

I accept that we are wasting too a great deal of water and I realise the Tánaiste, Deputy Gilmore, was engaged in politicking when we spoke to the Irish Examiner on this issue in June 2010. While the Tánaiste is a nice man, I expect he knew at the time he would not be able to fulfil his promise. People are tired of politicians knowingly promising something they cannot possibly deliver. This practice has dragged the reputations of all politicians through the mud. While one accepts that everyone makes mistakes, when one makes the statement the Tánaiste made and then proceeds to establish a water authority, it should come as no surprise that members of the public hold politicians in low esteem.

Water is a precious commodity which is expensive to provide. There is no doubt people are wasting it by leaving taps running and so forth. If, as proposed, an allowance is provided to each family and households pay for water consumed in excess of this threshold, people will start to conserve water and it will come to be considered a precious commodity.

A number of questions arise on this issue. What will happen to the jobs of the 3,600 local government employees who work in water services given that they cannot be redeployed? Will members of group water schemes be charged for water? Will those who have drilled wells be told they must pay for their water supply despite having given so much already? If charges are applied to such people, it will be an anti-rural measure. We see this already with the €100 household charge for which people in rural areas will get very little in return. If one puts in a group water scheme or one's own septic tank, one gets nothing from the Government for one's €100. If one is living in Dublin 4, one is getting water and sewage treatment for €100. Rural Ireland is getting nothing. This is more evidence of the Government's lack balance, fairness and equity when it comes to raising revenue.

I have serious concerns about Irish Water. It will be a quango. We are taking power away from public representatives and are giving it to unelected and unaccountable people. Members of this Chamber all know the difficulty getting answers from the Health Service Executive, the National Asset Management Agency, the Road Safety Authority and the National Roads Authority but we are setting up another quango which will not be accountable and will take money and spend it. If a fellow messes up, as happened in the North of Ireland, he might resign but one can be sure he will get a big fat pay off. Currently, if there is a problem with the water supply, at least the constituent can telephone the public representative on the council to find out why. Who will the constituent telephone in Irish Water? The constituent will be put through to a helpline which will not be much help in trying to supply water to one's house.

Will the Minister consider this again? We will be back here in a few years time wondering why Irish Water is not working. As with the NRA and the HSE, we are taking more power from public representatives and giving it to a large water authority which will not be accountable to anybody, will eat public money and which, ultimately, will be sold off, although the Tánaiste, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, was quoted recently as saying Irish Water was not being set up to be sold off but that is worth the same amount as the paper his statement to the Irish Examiner in 2010 was worth.