Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make it clear that this amendment is all about timing. It affects the timing of rebates from Irish Water to customers. The relevant section specifies that 1 January is the stated time. There is one rebate and one only as people move from no meter to having a meter. There is one opportunity. I reiterate that Senator Healy Eames's amendment affects when a person can get a rebate. The subsection as currently drafted will ensure that householders will be able to receive a rebate in respect of a lower volumetric charge at the earliest opportunity as a result of the date specified in the Bill. The effect of the proposed amendment from Senator Healy Eames would push the date back to the end of the metering programme and delay the rebate. Essentially, we are not accepting the amendment for that reason. We do not see that as being fair or reasonable.

Senator Ó Clochartaigh raised some good and valid points, but fundamentally we all agree that we have a water system that is broken and needs investment. The disagreement is on how we propose to invest in that water infrastructure. The Government is clearly laying its cards on the table. It is suggesting that we establish a national utility and that we should install meters to help conserve water but also to raise revenue to allow us to leverage funding that we can invest in the water infrastructure. If we do not leverage that funding, it has to come from the Exchequer directly. Therefore, either it has to come from other sectors such as health, education or social welfare, or we have to raise taxes elsewhere to secure the necessary funding.

We are not reinventing the wheel. I have often pointed to the case of ESB Networks, another national utility that has used the same model to raise funding off-balance-sheet as a national utility and a semi-state company. ESB Networks has undertaken a network renewal programme in the past 15 or 20 years. It attracted over €7 billion of investment to the electricity network. A similar model is being proposed by the Government. We believe it can and will work. No one can justify spending €1.2 billion per year on a system that has almost 50% leakage into the ground. The more pipes we fix, the more pressure is created, resulting in further leaks down the road. The infrastructure requires major investment and asset management, and that is what the Government is about. I hope the Senator will understand why the amendment is not being accepted. It is a question of timing. We believe that Senator Healy Eames's amendment would delay the rebate for customers.