David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will not really need it. While I am not quite sure where I left off, I may have been talking about the referendum and the question of privatisation. People have squashed that and have suggested there is no possibility of it. I believe the Minister or somebody else asked who has mentioned or called for privatisation. Although nobody has quite called for privatisation, the Minister's colleague, the former Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, has stated this was very much on the menu. Somebody who was directly involved in the negotiations and in the utility's establishment ought to have a pretty good idea of what was on the mat and as the former Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, has been saying this, that is the evidence I would put before the House in this regard.

I also have received briefings from the Green Party and I am glad to see it making some sort of a comeback. The Green Party makes the point with regard to the Irish Water utility - it wishes to keep it as a utility - that it is in the interests of the common good that this resource is permanently owned by the people and used to their benefit. The final point made by the Green Party is a very good one with which I am sure the Minister will sympathise, having spoken about his time here in Seanad Éireann, namely, that the role of the Upper House is to rise above the day-to-day political theatre and that is what I hope it will do. I have received several thousand e-mails on this issue and it was simply impossible to deal with that volume but I have singled out just one. It was from a reasonable woman who is a low-paid worker earning less than €28,000 and this is a bill she cannot afford, as it is just too much. She is a single mum, her son is about to go to university and she believes she may not be able to send him to college because of this. Moreover, if he goes to college, he then will be charged the water rate separately.

Again, this appears to be very unfair. She states that she is already paying property tax, which is taken at source, PAYE, PRSI, USC and a multitude of other taxes and VAT every day. She is of the view that it is unfair and unjust to impose water charges on people. Finally, she indicates that she has zero confidence that privatisation has been ruled out.

I wish to make a general point. A previous Government, following a great deal of difficult negotiation, obtained a derogation from Europe in respect of the imposition of water tax. This is now being thrown away. It is incomprehensible that we would go to the trouble of obtaining a derogation from European protocols only to then just leave them to one side. What has happened to this derogation? Will the Minister indicate why the Government did not submit an application for EU funding in respect of its plan for water charges? On the radio in recent days it was announced that some incomprehensible amount of money - it might have been €67 billion or it could have been €360 billion - is available for infrastructural plans throughout the EU. Why did we not submit an application to obtain funding for the provision of water infrastructure? Surely such an application would have been regarded sympathetically in light of our current situation.

The Minister made a very good point when he stated that Ireland is distinct from most other countries because it has abundant supplies of freshwater. He also highlighted the fact that this natural resource - which we take for granted - is not so plentiful in other countries and that these are placed at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting business, industry, pharma and chemical companies, agrifood interests, etc. I absolutely agree with the Minister that something must be done with regard to water supplies. However, people being obliged to pay for it twice is not the way to go. I do not believe for one second that the money collected will be directly invested in the infrastructure system. I am sure the Minister will be able to confirm that the money in question is not ring-fenced. There is nothing which states that it must be given directly to Irish Water. I am of the view that, like motor tax, etc., it will just disappear into general Exchequer funds.

When, on a previous occasion in this House, a Minister referred to raw sewage, I speculated as to whether she would prefer it cooked. The Minister, Deputy Kelly, referred to the contents of the Bill and stated "The Government package announced last month also referred to a suite of measures that would apply if households did not pay." The Government is being very coy about this matter. That suite of measures is not outlined in the Bill - probably in the interests of not frightening off the ditherers who are trying to find any excuse to justify their pusillanimous support for the Government - and I would like to be provided with some information in respect of it. These measures constitute the punishment for people who do not cough up. What a euphemistic turn of phrase the Minister employs when he refers to "a suite of measures". It almost sounds as if we should be queuing up to be entertained by this suite of measures.