Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At present, 20,000 people cannot drink the water from their own taps. For some, this has been the case for many years. We have an antiquated water network which is rotting in the ground and close to 50% of our national treated water supply is being lost. Some 16% of our water supplies are at risk and this could affect over 1 million people. One third of secondary wastewater treatment plants have inadequate effluent standards. In Dublin, more than 800 km of pipe is over 100 years old. Most major EU cities have a spare capacity of 15% to 20%, whereas Dublin has a surplus capacity of between 1% and 4%. There is virtually no spare supply capacity in Dublin, which threatens job creation prospects in the capital. We can no longer ignore the fact that raw sewage continues to flow into streams, rivers and harbours near 42 towns. We cannot stand over a situation where water supplies for 945,000 people require urgent remedial action.
Irish Water did not create these problems but it will fix them. In that context, it will start with its €1.8 billion capital investment plan which will be funded separately from general Government expenditure. The water network Ireland needs cannot be built from general taxation. It is not fair that the same working taxpayers should be asked to pay for everything. Almost every other developed country in the world has water charges, which makes it possible for them to invest in clean and safe water supplies for their citizens. The establishment of Irish Water as a single utility company to replace the current 34 separate disparate water authorities will result in better water services for everyone. When completed, the company's metering programme, which is extremely ambitious and currently ahead of target, will be a vital national asset in the context of facilitating water conservation, with significant benefits to customers of Irish Water and to the country's natural environment.
Fianna Fáil does not have a coherent policy on water charges. Fianna Fáil left us with the rotting water network to which I refer-----