Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge and very much regret that some very significant mistakes were made by Government and by Irish water in the initial stages of the utility company. I felt all along that it was an overly ambitiously project and that the timeline for having the project up and running was too tight, but I am now satisfied that the major concerns of citizens have been addressed. The main concerns were around pricing and possible privatisation. Certainly, the commitment in section 2 to hold a plebiscite on the ownership of Irish water if any future government proposes to change in any the ownership structure of Irish water is a copperfastened and tight commitment and I am certainly happy to support that.