Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like Senator Darragh O'Brien, I believe the introduction of water charges is inevitable. It has been on the cards for a couple of decades. Ireland is the only country in Europe that does not impose a water charge, which does not necessarily make it right.

On this side of the House, we have been attempting to tease out exactly how this structure will work. We accept the inevitable principle that it will happen. I am surprised, however, especially in the light of yesterday's debate on local government reform, that there has been so little discussion on the Government side of the Government's concept of establishing a separate water authority. I fail to understand why this and the previous Government seem to have engaged in a headlong rush to remove powers from politicians at local and national level. They have chosen to establish quangos at arm's length from the Government, only to find that such bodies have very little accountability. Like Senator Darragh O'Brien, I firmly believe it is inevitable that a future Government will decide to put the water authority up for sale. Regardless of the Government's wishes in this regard, the family jewels will be sold at some point to generate income.