Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We oppose this section because of the manner in which the tender was awarded to Bord Gáis. There should have been a public tender and we do not see what the rush was for except to divert awkward questions from the Taoiseach, the relevant Minister and the Government as a whole to Bord Gáis. We object to the company being formed on the basis that there should have been a public tender. Quite a few other companies would have been interested and they could have run it just as well as Bord Gáis.

We are also concerned about the job losses that may come about as a result of the formation of this company. I find myself in almost total agreement with Senator Cullinane's comments on the section. On Second Stage I alluded to the fact that the report from PricewaterhouseCoopers indicated that when the move to a new structure is complete, as a result of synergies, the number of people employed in providing local water and wastewater services will be significantly lower than the 4,278 people employed today. I also pointed out that the experience in Northern Ireland, when an equivalent experiment was launched in 2007, led to over 1,000 jobs being lost. If the same synergies were used here, we could lose up to 1,600 or 1,700 jobs.

We are very concerned, although I accept the Minister of State is equally concerned, about potential major job losses in this regard. The process should have received a public tender and the haste seems to have been meant to divert attention from awkward questions that could be put to the Taoiseach, the Minister and the Government as a whole.