David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact we will have statements on water services today and that the Leader listened to us and arranged the debate, which is important. I hope all Senators will be able to contribute to the debate, and I will not table an amendment to the Order of Business as the Leader signalled yesterday he wants this to happen. People will raise many issues and disagree on various aspects of water services and charges.

That is where we are politically, but the one point about which, given people's comments, there seems to be agreement is that water should remain under public ownership and not be sold. If we are genuine in this, I do not know why we cannot support the proposal tabled by Fianna Fáil Members today. A similar Private Members' Bill has been introduced in the Dáil by Sinn Féin and will be debated in three weeks' time. If we are serious about ensuring that our water services cannot be sold, what is the problem with saying so in the Constitution? In that way, only the people of the State could give permission for water services to be sold.

People want certainty, but there has been far too much confusion and too many mistakes have been made. Let us not add to the confusion further. I am sure that Government Senators will not support the amendment to the Order of Business, but they will have time to reflect in the coming weeks. If they want to ensure that water services remain in public ownership, they need to make proposals that satisfy people about that. We will disagree on charges and so forth, but I hope that we can reach an accommodation on the fundamental issue of water's ownership. I will support the proposed amendment to the Order of Business as well as the Bill that has been tabled by Fianna Fáil.