David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Could we have an answer to that? I presume the metering is still going on. I want to know why Irish Water did not take the trouble to put in a three-way meter that would register electricity, gas and water, particularly since the gas company is doing it. When I suggested this in the House previously, the Minister who was here at the time nodded.
I would like to refer to section 4(1) of this badly drafted Bill, which sets out what happens of "a customer of Irish Water has not paid any charges... and has not entered into a payment plan with Irish Water and which the customer complies with for payment of the charges by such date". At the beginning of that sentence we are told that it relates to a non-compliant customer, but the end of the sentence refers to what happens if "the customer complies". I ask the Minister to get the draftspeople to look at that again. I suggest the reference should be to "meeting the conditions". If they are complying with it, grammatically that means they are paying for it.
With regard to the question of a plebiscite, I emphasise that a plebiscite is a just a consultation with the people. It is not binding. There is a pretence in this Bill that it is binding, but it is not. In any case, the Government can simply amend the legislation ex post facto.