Lorraine Higgins (Labour) | Oireachtas source

As I did not get an opportunity to speak on Second Stage, I wish to commend the Minister on the clarity he has brought to a cloudy situation. He has introduced fairness and ensured affordability for all customers of Irish Water.

It is important to clear the air in regard to section 2. We need to forget about scaremongering because the reality is that the section guarantees public ownership of the utility by providing for a plebiscite. As one of the Labour Party Senators who voted to allow for a debate on the possibility of holding a referendum to safeguard Irish Water, I am satisfied that the Minister's proposals will safeguard it from privatisation. With respect to my colleagues, I think we are fighting the wrong battle. We should save our strength and depth of feeling for future Governments because Fine Gael and the Labour Party have ruled out privatising Irish Water. If Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and a plethora of Independent Members want to privatise Irish Water, we should fight that in the trenches. I speak for myself in regard to the day I voted on the Order of Business. Retaining Irish Water in public ownership was paramount for me; the mechanism by which that would happen was not as important. I am reassured by the strength of the language in the sections of the Bill we are currently debating. The word "shall" makes a demand, as opposed to "may", which is merely persuasive. This shows a definite intention on the part of the Minister to safeguard this utility for the Irish people. I ask my colleagues in Opposition whether Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin or Independent Members would delete section 2 if they are elected to Government.