Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator David Cullinane raised concerns about our constituency, Waterford. I am happy to report the good news that Irish Water will continue to invest in the seven villages sewerage scheme for which we have been waiting for over 15 years. It will invest in new sewage collection and treatment systems across County Waterford, which the Senator will welcome.

Irish Water has been at the top of the agenda for the past few weeks. The Government has listened and acted. We must move forward. I, therefore, call on the House to support Irish Water which is a national utility built along the lines of the ESB. The model has worked successfully. In the 1990s and 2000s ESB Networks undertook a network renewal programme, for which it raised more than €7 billion on international markets to invest in critical infrastructure. We are doing the same with the water network. The revised water charges package, combined with enhanced governance of the new public national water utility, will set us on the path towards full public confidence in the system, confidence that is required to ensure the optimal impact on the ground of these reforms and a public water system of which we can all be proud and which will meet the needs of citizens and businesses. These debates are very important. Fianna Fáil opposed the establishment of the ESB in 1926 and 1927.