David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I sympathise with the Minister, Deputy Kelly, who is a decent and intelligent man who was handed a really poisoned chalice. Some of us have been raising the issue of water in this House for many years. I remember speaking about the campylobacter infection in the water and the whole question of raw sewage going in. Absolutely nobody in any Government listened. They did not give a damn.

I would like to make the point that up to now, we have paid for water services out of general taxation. Now that a specific water tax is being introduced, there is no proposal to reduce the general levels of taxation. It is absolutely clear that we are now paying for water twice. The logic of that statement is undeniable. Why are we doing it? We are doing it to pay off the gambling debts of the German and French banks. Everybody knows that is why we are doing it. I will remind the House of how we are being treated in return. This country was regarded with contempt by the European Central Bank when it asked the bank to send a representative here to explain its position, its letters and the way it held a gun to the head of this country. The banks said "no, we are not going to bother, what about you?".

I know it is not diplomatic to say I am sick to my back teeth of members of the Government bouncing around like turkey cocks on the plinth and expostulating about their awful difficulties - what they are going to do about the water charges and all this kind of thing. I know I should be sucking up to them and trying to wheedle them over here, but I am fed up with that because it does not work. They are happy out there, bouncing around and hoping to the lord God that they will actually survive the coming culling.

I would like to ask the Minister about the water conservation grant, which is a right turkey. What is it conserving? How is it conserving anything? What has it got to do with conservation?