Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach has been unable to give any detail or proper answers about his Government's proposals for introducing water charging and dismantling the current water service system. In their haste to hand the multi-million euro contract for water and wastewater services to Bord Gáis, the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Hogan, could not even wait for the Oireachtas committee to complete its report. While many of us were alarmed by this haste, at least it suggested that the Government had a plan and was pursuing it with some vigour and energy. Sadly, our faith was ill placed because the Taoiseach and his Ministers were unable to answer the most basic questions about this plan. It became clear that the Bord Gáis announcement had more to do with the need to redirect embarrassing questions away from the Government than creating a better system for citizens.

Last April, the Taoiseach boldly announced that there will be no job losses. I genuinely hope he is right, but all the commentary and analysis suggests otherwise. According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report that was commissioned by the Government, when the new structure is complete, synergies mean that the number of people employed in providing local water and wastewater services "will be significantly lower than the 4,278 deployed today". Can the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, tell us if he agrees with the Taoiseach's claim that there will be no job losses? I know he alluded to this issue in his contribution. Perhaps he can clarify the matter further on the basis of the comments I have made. Does he agree with the Government's consultants and the officials in his Department? The experience of our nearest neighbour in the North is illuminating. In 2005-06, some 2,100 people were employed in local water services in Northern Ireland. Its equivalent of the Bord Gáis experiment was launched in April 2007. There are now just 1,306 people employed in water and wastewater services there. If anything like the same level of synergies is applied here, we will be looking at between 1,600 and 1,700 job losses. Can the Minister of State comment on the likely numbers? I hope he can say something to quell the uncertainty being experienced by current employees.

The Government regards the creation of Irish Water and the roll-out of metering as vital parts of its job stimulus package. However, I am uneasy about its decision to press ahead with investments in this area without clarifying the cost. Senators on this side of the House believe the Government is putting the cart before the horse by bringing this Bill before the House at this juncture. It has not yet passed the legislation that will secure the right of subcontractors to ensure they fully benefit from the stimulus. Can the Minister of State offer us some clarity on this matter?

We are deeply concerned about how much families will be asked to pay. Surely the ultimate cost to the customer should be one of the Government's first considerations. We have yet to get any detail on the level of free allowances and the total cost to the consumer. This continuing uncertainty about how much people will have to pay for water metering can be attributed to the contradictory statements which have been made by various Cabinet members. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, has announced that people will receive their first water bills by the end of 2014 and has estimated that the annual cost could reach ¤400 per household. The same Minister originally stated that the Government would implement water charging by 2014. Reports in September 2012 indicated that metering would not be completed until 2016.

The Government has at least three firmly stated, yet mutually contradictory, positions on installation charges. In April 2012, the Taoiseach said:

There will not be an installation charge for the householder because that cost will be covered as a loan from the National Pensions Reserve Fund to the Department. There will be a cost for the meter itself.

An official in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government said the cost of buying and installing water meters will be passed on to households and not paid for by the Exchequer. He said it will be "similar to how other regulated utilities are funded globally" in so far as "the cost of the meters and the delivery of service will be passed on to the consumers". The third and most recently stated position was outlined by the Tánaiste on RTE's "This Week" when he said "No decision has yet been made on how water meters are to be paid for". Could the Minister of State clarify the situation? All of this demonstrates that the initial statements made by the Minister, Deputy Hogan, were clearly lacking any factual basis. The general uncertainty about a range of matters casts a huge doubt over this entire policy. The Government has decided to sell part of Bord Gáis Éireann and, because of its expertise in metering and billing households, to give it responsibility for the new water utility. Does the Minister of State accept that the public finds it hard not to see this as a key step on the road to privatisation?

I would like to respond to Senator Landy and his Labour Party colleagues in this House. I appreciate that they have difficulty with the Bill as it stands. It requires them to endure yet another U-turn on their pre-election promises to the people of Ireland. I am sure the Labour Party Senators, including Senator Landy, do not need to be reminded of their pre-election commitments and statements. However, I would like to put some of them on the record of the House. The 2011 Labour Party election manifesto stated that "Labour does not favour water charges". On 18 February of the same year, the current Minister, Deputy Howlin, said "We are not in favour of water charges". On 28 June 2010, the current Tánaiste, Deputy Gilmore, told the Irish Examiner:

I?m against water charging. Water is a necessity. I?ve always believed essential services like water should be delivered as a public service. A flat household charge would be unfair and does not discriminate between houses with five bathrooms or none, and metering is unworkable.

Fianna Fáil urges the Government to stop prevaricating and to set out the full cost and implications of its plan for water services. As I have outlined, we have genuine concerns about the plans for water charges. We have been told that apartments may be excluded from metering, but we have seen no details about how they will be charged. We are deeply worried that there is no guarantee on conservation or water infrastructure. The Government does not appear to have learned the lessons of the household charge fiasco and the septic tank fiasco. It is rushing ahead with the creation of Irish Water and rolling out water meters without clearly considering the costs involved to consumers.

I regret that Fianna Fáil will not be in a position to support this Bill on Second Stage. I note that section 8 of the Bill provides, as the Minister of State said, for the standard prohibitions on Irish Water directors or staff members holding political office at national or European levels. I hope that does not prevent county councillors from holding directorships. Perhaps the Minister of State can clarify whether they will be covered by the prohibition that will apply to national and European politicians. I hope they will not be excluded. I accept that my party provided for such a prohibition in the past and that it was wrong to do so. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, to the House once again. I regret that his senior ministerial colleague has put him out here like a lamb to the slaughter. He is very welcome.