Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This issue was discussed on Second Stage, so I will not dwell on it now other than to say that this is an important amendment. I raised this issue when we met recently with departmental officials and the impression I got was that they were very favourably disposed to the idea that the right of councillors and public representatives to make representations on behalf of the public might be written into the legislation. It is fine to have a gentlemen's agreement or something of that nature, but there can be no guarantees unless there is specific provision in the Bill. We saw what happened when the health boards were eliminated. Public representatives should be able, possibly by way of a dedicated telephone line, to make representations on behalf of the public, including at the weekend. Councillors are generally the first port of call when people experience these types of problems, not Uisce Éireann or anybody else. That should be written into the legislation.