David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am not disagreeing with any of that, I am just saying that is the logic of it. Their logic is that the full cost should be passed on to what they would see as the consumer and customer. We are trying to establish if the full cost also includes capital investment. The only reason why we have any capital investment from the State at this point in time is because we do not have domestic water charges. We are not asking the Minister of State to produce a crystal ball; we want a straight answer to a straight question. If we bring in water charges - and we will - and both domestic and commercial users are paying for the service, will it be the case over time that any capital investment from central Government will then begin to disappear? Will it be replaced by increased charges and borrowings, or however Irish Water gets the money to invest in water infrastructure? In fact, we will not see very much investment at all from the State. That seems to me to be the logic of where all this is going. I would be even more worried, however, if the Minister of State cannot see that or tell us about it, given that he is introducing the Bill. I do not know if the Minister of State understands the point I am making.