Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I believe I am addressing the Minister of State with responsibility for NewERA so that might clarify one point. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and welcome his opening address. The briefing document that was supplied to us by the Oireachtas Library was indeed excellent and it supplied strong and irrefutable evidence that we need to build out our water system.

It contrasts greatly with the evidence that was made available today by the other State organisation, EirGrid, regarding the case for opposing the undergrounding of cables. That is another day's work and is not a matter for the Minister of State here today.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I have kept a close eye on the Bill right from time of the previous one. I have had a lot of discussions with staff representatives, particularly SIPTU representatives. I appreciate and welcome the work done by the LRC to try to find a way forward but I shall return to the matter later.

Many concerns about the Bill were voiced in the early days. I thank the Minister of State for the work that he has put into the legislation. I raised a number of issues in a previous Bill before the House. The Minister of State said that he would address them in this Bill which he has done and I sincerely thank him for doing so. It is important that when Senators raise issues here, following discussions with other people and experts, the relevant Minister listens and includes it in legislation.

The Bill provides for the transfer of water services and functions from 34 water service authorities to Irish Water to ensure cost savings. Reference was made to the cost of staff, etc., in the new structure. I am satisfied that the staff on the ground, notwithstanding the top tier of staff, are working at a rate that will provide efficiencies in the new organisation. The Bill will also ensure that a combination of expertise spanning all local authorities will be available to Irish Water. That is extremely important and is an issue that I have raised with the Minister of State before. Senator Clune referred to the fact that the expertise in local authorities, particularly local knowledge on water networks which is critical, will be maintained, saved and availed of for the years ahead. Many years ago my local authority had a local town plumber, Lord have mercy on his soul, who memorised the entire water network. When he died we discovered that the network had never been recorded on paper. My local authority learned a lesson. It realised that it is critical to have such knowledge documented and it has since been recorded on a GIS system.

The Bill also provides for service level agreements between Irish Water and local authorities. I shall return to the matter later because I wish to ask a few questions. A service level agreement is necessary for a smooth changeover and was a critical issue when we discussed the previous Bill. The agreement will last 12 years. In the Bill and explanatory memorandum reference was made to what may happen after the 12 years expires. Does the Minister of State believe that there will not be a follow-on after the 12 years? Has he concerns? The question has been put to me by worker representatives and I ask him to clarify the matter when he responds.

Representatives will work at a regional level with local authorities to ensure that the service level agreements are adhered to. How deep will the drilling go? Who will measure the depth on an ongoing basis?

The Bill refers to but does not provide for water charges. Can he let me know his thoughts on the matter? I know that the situation will follow on from where we are today. I ask that consideration is given to large families on low incomes, carers in the home and people who, for one reason or another, must use extra water. The Minister of State made reference to the matter in his contribution in terms of the Tidy Towns committees and various community groups. I welcome his comments because the matter is extremely important.

A section in the Bill provides that water can be cut off to commercial operations or premises but not for non-commercial entities. Will the provision stand up? The provision will cause problems because many people live over their premises, for example. I know that the issue has been thrashed out a lot with local authorities. What happens if a retail business where the owner and his or her family lives over the house, closes down because he or she cannot pay commercial rates and the water is due to be cut off? How will the matter be dealt with and clarified?

The Commission for Energy Regulation is responsible for ensuring that decisions are made in the best interest of the customer. Earlier one Senator questioned whether the commission will act in the interest of the customer or the supplier. Common sense should prevail and people should realise that the commission will act in the interest of the customer because that is why it exists in the first place. Is the Minister of State satisfied with the provision?

I have already referred to the fact that 4,000 people work in local authorities in the water sector. Also, service level agreements are due to last 12 years. Is the agreement's duration directly linked to security of employment for local authority workers? Is there a correlation? There is a little ambiguity that needs to be cleared up for me, even though I pose the question on behalf of other people.

The Minister of State has clarified that all of the terms and conditions for the people who are and have transferred will move with them. Will they get individual “letters of comfort”? That term was used by Aer Lingus in the past. Can he clarify the current position?

With regard to getting ready for metering in 2015, the meters shall be put in place and ready by the last quarter of 2014. Practically all commercial premises have a water meter but there are still many meters to be installed. It has been estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 units of housing, many of which are apartments, cannot and will not be metered in time but there is a mechanism to estimate their water usage. I am talking about apartment blocks so shall use them as the most common example. Will apartment blocks have individual meters or will it always be a guesstimate scenario?

I have a concern about the call centre to be set up and I have raised the issue with the Minister of State here, at committee and at the briefing. The representations that local authority members make to the water section of their local authority are dealt with first hand by the staff. What will happen to the service when Irish Water runs the water services for local authorities? To whom can representations be made, either by local authority members or Oireachtas members? At yesterday's briefing some of his staff suggested that a special telephone line could be made available to public representatives.