Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tá brón orm. I thought I had indicated that I want to speak but I had not.

Section 17 relates to a water charges plan and it is a very important part of the Bill. It sets out the criteria and the manner in which the charging can take place. It sets out where Irish Water can consult with the Commission for Energy Regulation. It states that a charges plan shall apply in respect of such period as the commission shall direct. We are giving the commission the power to direct the length of time those charges should apply, whether it be one year, two years or five years. The commission has the authority to determine, under section 17, the length of time in which the charging plan shall last. It also has the power to specify the manner and method by which the charges, under section 16, can be calculated. This goes back to the fundamental question of the competency of the Commission for Energy Regulation.

Power is being removed from Members of the Oireachtas to have an input, through both Houses, into the level of the water charge and, in addition to that, there is the question of the inability to pay element. I very much regret that the amendment on the ability to pay principle has been rejected. That is a grave mistake. The spirit of this amendment is that those who genuinely cannot pay the charge should have an opportunity to state their case and explain why they cannot pay it and that should be taken into consideration. Unfortunately we are leaving that in the hands of the gods or those who may be less compassionate than the gods. In other words, we are leaving that to Irish Water, which will be a massive organisation.

Similar organisations have been established by various Governments in the past and have proven, over time, not to be the most effective, efficient or compassionate. We are establishing another similar type of organisation and entrusting it to be effective, efficient and compassionate when all the similar organisations that have been established meet none of those criteria. We are now establishing another one and giving it massive powers under this legislation to set whatever price it sees fit based on whatever plans it draws up for whatever infrastructure it sees fit to invest money in. The Minister of State can rest assured that its bottom line objective will be to make money, not to lose money, and it will make money at all costs because it is compelled to do so and that is the reason it is being established.

The other question referred to in the section is the water discharged from premises, which will be charged for as well. What happens in the case of people with individual septic tanks? Surely they cannot be charged for water. They would have spent money in putting in place a Pure Flow treatment system or a septic tank and that system would treat their effluent. They can be charged for the cost of public drinking water but they cannot be charged for the discharge of wastewater.

The basis of this measure is that the charge will be based on water in and the same amount of water out but if the water out is going into a private contained sewerage system, as is the case in respect of many systems in rural Ireland, it would be very unfair for the Government to charge people for a service that they are not obtaining. That aspect needs to be clarified as it is not clearly set out on line 4 of section 17 on page 13. This is a fundamental section. It sets out the powers we will give Irish Water, in consultation with the Commission for Energy Regulation, to determine whatever price it sees fit to charge for public drinking water and for the discharge of that water, and it removes that power from Members of the Oireachtas.

Irrespective of whether Members of the Houses of Oireachtas are in opposition or in government, at least they are in constant touch with the people. We hear from the people the difficulties they are experiencing on any given day or week through our clinics. We are better placed to determine what that level should be rather than some quango or the Commission for Energy Regulation which, thus far, has been the administrating authority for the provision of energy to Irish consumers, bearing in mind that Irish consumers are one of the highest paying consumers across Europe for the provision of energy by utilities to their homes with the cost of such provision increasing substantially year on year.

How could one entrust that type of organisation to employ or allow a fair charging policy? It is all wrong. I fundamentally disagree with the system. It is wrong to remove powers from democratically elected people - irrespective of which side of the House they are on - in these Houses, or from councillors across the country.

Councillors are being railroaded out of existence in terms of their function on water service provision. I accept they are being consulted but I could consult anyone. I could consult with the Irish football management team of Roy Keane and Martin O'Neill but they will not take on board what I have to say. I would not expect them to because they have no obligation to do so. Our role is to impose an obligation on Irish Water to at least listen to public representatives in Seanad Éireann, Dáil Éireann and local authorities. Irish Water is not compelled to do so and that is fundamentally wrong.