Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to add to what some of my colleagues said about water pricing. I acknowledge the steps that have been taken by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in acknowledging the massive and grave mistakes that were made by the previous Minister, which were highlighted by this side of the House during the debate in February this year, on the establishment of Irish Water and the pricing model to be used. Irrespective of what happens today and the tweaking around the edges in terms of establishing a fixed price over a period, the quango that is Irish Water still exists. The best approach would be for the Government to make a decision to disband the company in its current format and to move the responsibility back to the public ownership in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the local authorities where councillors would at least have responsibility for making decisions and for overseeing work and investment plans through the county council process.

What happened in England, for example, when a decision was taken to semi-privatise water provision through the creation of regional authorities, resulted in regional water monopolies which increased the price by more than 200% in a 20-year period. The average cost of water per household in England currently is approximately £456 sterling. That is the actual cost of the water, and it would be the equivalent cost of providing water in this country if it was averaged out on a household basis. The difficulty in England is that a semi-private, off-balance sheet monopoly was created on a regional basis but when investment was required, it was privatised or sold. Private investors bought the regional authorities. The British Government then tried to claw back the mistake it had made. It acknowledged that a mistake had been made but it was too late at that stage. I fear that in five, ten or 15 years' time, we will come to the inevitable conclusion, irrespective of who is in government, that a grave mistake was made but it will be too late at that stage. We can try to enshrine certain provisions in legislation but it will be too late unless we disband the existing structure. We see that it is a mistake. Millions of euro have been wasted on spin doctors and consultants to replicate what is already in place through the local authority structure and through the Department. I fear that soon it will be too late to do anything. While the changes being introduced today might solve the problem for some for the next two to three years, the longer-term picture will not be solved.