Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the views expressed on this side of the House relating to the concerns about the setting up of Irish Water. The Government has not yet passed the Construction Contracts Bill, which would secure subcontractors' rights to ensure they would fully benefit from the stimulus that will occur from installing water meters. I assume one will follow the other but will the Minister of State comment on that?

What will be the relationship between the local authorities and the new board between 2014 and 2017? Will there be a secondment of staff from local government? That would be unfortunate as everything the Minister attempts to do when he comes before this House to speak about reform of local government is about handing more power to local authorities, with more democratic accountability of local councillors and integration of services into the local authority umbrella. Nevertheless, we are taking away a particularly important aspect of local government and there seems to be a general view towards establishing outside bodies. Will the Minister of State reassure the House that although there is an inevitability about this process, there will be some accountability and an opportunity for local public representatives to have as much an input as national representatives? It should not be like the HSE, which only has an e-mail or phone number as a point of contact.