Seanad debates

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

Water Services (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage

 

5:30 pm

Photo of Brian Ó DomhnaillBrian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I share the concerns of Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh on this issue. Over recent months, we have seen a move away from the way democracy has been conducted because of the proposed abolition of town councils, the reduction in the powers of councillors and the loss of councillor input into local authority investment programmes for critical infrastructure for wastewater and public drinking water. This is a retrograde step. It is certainly a step to remove democratic accountability in respect of the services in question. Local authority members have worked diligently over the years to try to ensure they held local officials to account. They are currently obliged to do so under the Local Government Act 2001 in regard to public drinking water and wastewater. Unfortunately, if this legislation is passed, councillors will lose their powers after the transfer. We are removing powers from councillors, whether we like it or not. This is the wrong approach.

Someone with a burst water main in a very remote rural area will now have to ring a call centre in Cork. This is just like the position with the ESB in that one must ring the 1850 number in Cork. It is removing councillors and local input from the equation and creating something that is far removed from the burst pipe in the locality, which is wrong. We are doing this by transferring all the functions. One can argue, as was done on Second Stage, that there will be local engineers whom councillors can ring, but effectively what is happening is that all the functions are being transferred to a centralised body. We are centralising the system and removing democratic accountability and the capacity to hold those who make decisions to account. While councillors will have a role in regard to the strategic plan, they will have a consultative role as opposed to a decision-making role. This is where the difficulty lies. One can bring forward legislation and proclaim one is consulting elected representatives but ultimately the people making the decisions will do so irrespective of consultation because they will have a statutory responsibility and remit to do so if this legislation is passed. That is wrong. It is wrong to remove the voice closest to democracy, namely, the voice of the local councillor. Local councillors can give a voice to the local communities they represent when issues arise concerning public drinking water or wastewater. This function is now being removed and, unfortunately, there is centralisation of services. We do not know the ultimate position on the assets of Uisce Éireann but we know where it is going - that is, towards the removal of the current role of local authority members and local council officials. That is the wrong step to take and I fundamentally disagree with it.

The Minister of State and I have differing views. He may refer to the EU-IMF and troika deal as much as he wants but ultimately it must be acknowledged there was nothing in the troika deal to establish a semi-state organisation to roll out water services. There was no negotiation by the Government with the troika to make the point that Ireland wants to keep service provision localised because councillors and local officials have been doing the job in question and can continue to do so. What is being done is the wrong move. We are allowing centralisation of the fixing of the water charge because the Commission on Energy Regulation will be setting a charge. We know what it has done with electricity prices; it has allowed the ESB and other service providers to impose 15% increases year on year, thereby affecting every citizen. What will be done differently on this occasion? I submit nothing will be done except to allow the cost of water to increase year on year. In five or ten years, every politician on both sides of each House and in the local authorities will be criticising Irish Water and the Commission for Energy Regulation. It will then be too late, however, because the legislation will have been passed and the bills will have to be paid.

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