Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

With Senators Maurice Cummins and Darragh O'Brien, I wish all colleagues in the House a happy new year. I hope we will have a productive and fruitful year.

Let me refer to the controversy over Irish Water which has been the subject of considerable public debate. I very much welcome the fact that two Oireachtas committees are examining it and scrutinising the consultancy payments in greater detail. I refer to the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht and the Committee of Public Accounts. I hope we can have a debate in this House, perhaps in the coming weeks, once more information is forthcoming through the committee hearings. It is appropriate that the committees conduct hearings and are able to ask the questions before we have a debate on the floor of this House.

With regard to the housing adaptation scheme and the comments made thereon by Senator Darragh O'Brien, I remind him that there is an increase in the allocation for the housing adaptation grant for 2014.