Seanad debates

Thursday, 18 December 2014

Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage

 

12:15 pm

Photo of Jim WalshJim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Let me outline where I stand personally. In 1983, Dick Spring, the then leader of the Labour Party, introduced domestic water charges for the first time. I was a member of Wexford County Council at the time. We would have had water charges within the rural area but never within the urban area. As I stated on the last occasion, I did not have a principled objection to a reasonable charge. While we had a majority on our town council, we agreed the charge should be effected by the local authority in the interest of providing revenue for the service. There was long-term opposition at the time among the public, particularly in Dublin, but it had almost petered out by 1996 when current Deputy Joe Higgins, who was probably the lone voice opposing water charges, did well in a by-election. My constituency colleague Deputy Brendan Howlin, who was Minister at the time, abolished the water charges. To some extent, I do not have sympathy for the Government over its predicament because it represents poetic justice. What was done was done for political reasons. This highlights that populist politics eventually comes back to bite one. While there might be a perceived short-term gain associated with the current policy, it is a foolish one to pursue in the medium to long term. I hope all parties will desist from this in the future.

During the debate last year I raised serious concerns about placing this in the stable of Bord Gáis. Bord Gáis is not, and certainly was not, a model of good corporate governance when it came to cost controls, cost-effectiveness and efficiencies. Why it was put in there is beyond me. Unfortunately, the Bill continues this process. It needs a much more commercially well-run corporate focus than it will have. The Government came in on a promise of abolishing the proliferation of quangos which had been introduced over many decades. I certainly subscribe to this. However, here we have the introduction of a super-quango. In fact, it is the mother of all quangos.

One area the Minister should review is the structure which has been established. We not only attached Irish Water to Bord Gáis, but we overstaffed it from the beginning. We told the people who will be paying for it that the number of staff would correct itself by 2026 through natural wastage. In other words, they are to bear the cost for the next 12 years until it comes right, rather than structuring it in a cost-efficient way from the beginning. We have spent approximately €700 million on consultants and metering, and it is very difficult to say how this will be returned. It will take many years to recover the capital costs involved. At any stage last year or this year was a business plan prepared for Uisce Éireann which would illustrate to us the internal rate of return? It is standard practice for anyone in the private sector making an investment to work out initially the internal rate of return. Often the decision will be based on the outcome of this. I hope this has been done, but I would be pleasantly surprised if it was. Unfortunately, it is not how the public service works. While there is a lot of political flak with regard to this issue, when Ministers get themselves into difficulties, and I saw it with many of my colleagues when we were in government, it is not always the Ministers' fault. People on very high salaries do not fulfil the responsibilities they have. Covering for these people needs to be changed and examined.

With regard to regulation, I have no confidence in the Commission for Energy Regulation or others. None of them has proved to be champions of the consumer.

With regard to the plebiscite, did the Cabinet seek advice from the Attorney General on putting a referendum to the people on this and what was the outcome? I am not happy we have a public monopoly. A private monopoly would be a disaster. Sinn Féin in its budget submission a few months ago included in its figures the part-privatisation of Uisce Éireann to buttress some of its figures. Very little focus has been placed on this by the media or anybody else.

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