Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

No, monopoly companies. Irish Rail is another example. We can debate what a monopoly is and what it is not when I return with freedom of information legislation.

Senators asked if the setting up of Irish Water was rushed. The establishment of Irish Water was a troika commitment entered into by the previous Government that we inherited. It is a move that I support and it must be remembered I abolished water charges in the mid-1990s when I was Minister for the Environment. However, to secure the provision of safe and abundant water supplies for our citizens and business into the future, it makes sense to have one integrated entity which operates on scale.

It makes sense to have one integrated entity which operates on scale. There is a compelling article in the Irish Independenttoday, penned by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, rebutting in some detail some of the generalisms put out by Mr. Fitzgerald of the ESRI. We need rational argument and open debate on these issues. Everybody's point of view needs to be tested and not simply headlined.

With regard to why we are using the energy regulator, the idea is to have economies of scale and that where we have regulators we integrate them. Part of the recommendations of the McCarthy report is to consolidate and co-ordinate oversight and regulation rather than to establish new bodies for everything we want to do. I hope to see more of it. When I introduced the lottery legislation in the House I indicated that in my judgment the regulator for the lottery should become a regulator for gambling in due course so we do not duplicate a new body every time we have a new purpose.

I thank Senators for their support and I look forward to returning for a broader debate on the issue of freedom of information when the Bill presents itself from the other House.