Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As my colleague, Senator Barrett, has indicated, these are the ordinary people who asked for this House to be retained in order to have some sort of a paternal look over legislation. They expected much more from us. I deeply regret the Water Services Bill as it has been presented. The Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Kelly, are genuinely trying but they are not being allowed to listen or they are failing to hear what we are saying. The bottom line is the people of Ireland want water to be owned by the people and they cannot afford the money we are talking about right now.

Let us be totally honest, as part of this is a bravado in that we can implement legislation charging for water. We are not even going to be able to pay for the loans we have taken out with this. The Government has kicked the issue down the road to 2019 before it can start to make any serious charges. I know there are people watching this debate on television as they have contacted me all night. They are saying they want to pay for water but they should not be paying a double tax; they are saying they are taxed to their throats. Government Members may complain but in the end, people do not have the money.