Seanad debates

Tuesday, 25 November 2014

Water Sector Reforms: Statements

 

4:55 pm

Photo of Denis LandyDenis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I also wish to make a case for staff who are members, in the main, of SIPTU and earn between €25,000 and €45,000 per year. Because the public has conflated the significant bonuses at the top with the pay-related bonuses of people earning a lower income, all of the bonuses have, unilaterally, been withdrawn. For former council or local authority staff, a bonus was part of their traditional pay model, which at that time included incremental scales and a multitude of grades. This matter must be reviewed and re-examined, because one size does not fit all in this situation. I wish to put on record that these public sector workers, who earn between €25,000 and €45,000 per annum, should not unilaterally have their increments or bonus-type scheme removed without negotiation. The matter needs to be revisited by both the Government and Irish Water.

I wish to reflect and support the comment made by my colleague, Senator Keane, on the necessity for investment. In fact, 42 towns across this country have raw sewage flowing into rivers adjacent to or running through them, which is unacceptable. The situation needs to be dealt with, and dealt with now.

I am not an economist, although we have a few in the House. I have heard all sorts of formulae for funding to deal with this matter. The fact of the matter is that we must come up with funding. I believe that the scheme in place is sustainable and will provide the funding needed to deal with the 42 towns that have a raw sewage problem.

The conservation grant that has been introduced is one that I support, but other conservation methods and systems need to be implemented. The collection of water in water butts, etc., has been mentioned here. In the area of waste management, we used to have what were famously known as dumps, but then we modernised and moved to landfill and waste separation. One of the key elements of a successful change was recycling and the separation of waste. People across the country bought into the concept and purchased or were provided with recycling bins, composting bins, etc. The Government has an opportunity, through Irish Water, to buy into a conservation system that will sustain Irish Water beyond the lifetime of the current programme. Obviously we must mend the damage that has been done to the network, but we must also conserve water. Does the Minister of State have any information for us on what the Government proposes to do, through Irish Water, in terms of water conservation?

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