Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The cost now, I believe, will be €539 million. The talk of Irish Water being good at managing costs is blown out the window there. The €100 million above the estimate in that scenario cancels out the Poolbeg saving to which the Minister alluded earlier as well.

I tend to agree with Senator van Turnhout on many issues but I disagree with one of the issues she raised today around the extra burden that the cost of paying for Irish Water will impose on families and I will give a practical example, that of a single mother to whom I spoke last week in Galway. The woman, who rang me specifically, has no connection with my party whatsoever. She stated that this is the last straw. She stated that, as she approaches Christmas, even the €3 a week is far too much for her with her two children. The Government parties are deluding themselves when they try to convince people that it is only €3 a week. It is €3 a week on top of all of the other costs that have been imposed on this family. That it is why so many came out on the streets. That is the point they were trying to make. That is the point the Minister is still not listening to.

I do not tend to agree often with the former Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd. Certainly, when he came in here to discuss the previous setting up of Irish Water, I did not agree with him. When I heard him state on "Morning Ireland" that Irish Water was an unmitigated disaster, however, I certainly agreed with him wholeheartedly. The scapegoating of the former Minister, Commissioner Phil Hogan, is hilarious as well because every Senator on the Government side here voted and supported him wholeheartedly. None of the amendments that we put forward were accepted by the Government, that is, Labour and Fine Gael together.