Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have had a very amiable discussion tonight, but this amendment goes to the crux of the issue. The Minister of State has said, according to his own figures, that there is a gap in funding for water services. The expenditure is €1.2 billion, with an income of €200 million derived from corporate sources, although there is an enormous level of under-collection in that area, which must be noted. There is also 34% wastage in the water system. The fact is that Joe and Mary Soap, listening to this debate and considering this issue, want to know what will happen to their bank balance at the end of the year. They are already contributing, through taxation, to the €1.2 billion that is being spent at present. That is not going to be reduced, according to the Minister of State's comments tonight. They will still be paying the same level of taxation, through the PAYE, PRSI and so forth, but they are now going to be asked to pay another charge. Whether that charge is higher or lower than what has been estimated here is not really the point; families will be facing an extra charge going into 2015. It is an extra tax really and to try to dress it up as a conservation issue and claim that the legislation is being introduced to save water and so forth is dishonest. This is a tax being brought in to cover the gap in our finances in the State. That is the crux of the matter here.

It is unacceptable that ability to pay is not being taken into account. We had the same debate in the context of the local property tax and we have seen how people reacted to the fact that income levels were not being taken into consideration. People out there are totally stretched. They are trying to pay the new property tax, some have lost their medical cards, and they are facing rising costs at every turn. I have met people in Galway who literally do not know how they will make ends meet. The Government is introducing another charge on top of all of the others. We have argued that the Government should use the money being spent on installing water meters to fix the leaks that are causing 34% of water produced to be wasted. That would save water and support the conservation agenda. The Government should also invest in schemes to enable people to install rainwater harvesting systems in their homes, thus further conserving water. If the Government is really serious about conserving water, it would use the money being used for water meter installation on conservation measures instead. A district metering system could have been used in certain areas, which would give us a sense of where water is being wasted.

The Minister of State is not convincing any of us on this side of the House that this is about water conservation. This is an extra tax being brought in to meet troika deadlines. It is the wrong way to go. Other options were available to the Government and my party is totally opposed to what the Minister of State is doing.