Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The very good discussion in the House on this section of the Bill has been brought about by the worthwhile amendment proposed by Senator Barrett. The amendment cuts to the bone of Irish Water in its current form and where we want to see water in the future. It touches on financial transparency and the transparency or clearness of the water as well. It relates to who will own the water into the future. We must accept that water is a fundamental human right. According to the World Health Organization, each individual needs between 50 and 100 litres of water to live each day. If we are to accept the UN declaration on the right to water and what it states, surely we have to make sure that right is not diluted by future ownership or by the costing of future unaffordability issues.

While they are both interlinked, the charging is a matter for section 3. Section 2 is about ownership. Senator Bradford outlined very clearly the fact that a simple resolution by both Houses of the Oireachtas could in effect lead to an equity stakeholding to permit outside interests to takeover control of Irish Water whether that be a controlling interest or another level of interest. Given that there will be a worldwide scarcity of water over the next 30 to 40 years, water will be a valuable investment opportunity for speculators and those who might want to export water from Ireland to other jurisdictions.

We are going into uncharted waters, if colleagues will pardon the pun. While I accept his bona fides and acknowledge the work the Minister has done to tidy up the mess left by Phil Hogan, the fundamental issue is the ownership of our water and that has not been tidied up sufficiently. The issue of public ownership of a water supply is fundamental to why people marched on the streets. While they are concerned about the charges, people's opinions should not be reduced to that. People are cleverer than that. The Irish people know the importance of water not only now but for future years. They know there will be a scarcity and they are concerned about the future ownership of the resource.

If we learn anything from other jurisdictions, we should be aware of what happened in England where there are 11 regional monopoly companies dealing with water. In the first ten years of their operation from the late 1980s, they increased the price of water by 100%. In the following ten years, they increased the price of water by a further 102%. Under the Labour Party in England, the British Government wanted to call a halt to spiralling prices and the monopoly situations that existed in each region, but it was too late. The Government under the Prime Minister at the time, Tony Blair, failed because it had gone too far. The establishment had been created and the precedent was there. The Government was unable to go back and reverse what had occurred. That will happen here because in 20 or 25 years Irish Water will still be there in whatever form - public, semi-public or private, no one knows - and in control of the drinking water supply in every domestic or business premises. It will be too late then to break it up and bring it back into public ownership. If we accept that water is a fundamental human right and necessary, according to the World Health Organisation, just to live, this is a fundamental decision that will affect future generations. It is not like food; it is more important than that as it is necessary to live on a daily basis.

We are going down the wrong road and I agree completely with where Senator Barrett is coming from. The steps initially taken by the previous Minister, Phil Hogan, in moving control and the decision making responsibility away from local authorities and councillors was the wrong way to go. It was to take decision making on a precious and scarce resource away from the closest level of democracy and centralise it. One can argue that there are economies of scale and critical mass, but that does not add up when one looks at how much water is being lost. When the Minister was last in the House on 5 November, he outlined that 49% of all water was lost through the pipe network. We do not know how much it costs to produce water as half of what it is produced is lost. In that context, the €1.2 billion which people are currently paying and which we will discuss in relation to section 3 is not an accurate figure. In County Kilkenny, 56% of water is lost and in County Donegal, 43% of water is lost. These are huge losses and the first thing to do is surely to carry out a complete cost-benefit analysis of the network to find out how much water is being lost and what the monetary value of the loss is, and put in place an investment programme funded by borrowings and Exchequer returns contained within the local government sector under the control of the Department of the Environment, Communities and Local Government and the local authority audit section. At least then, decisions would be made locally. Individuals who have a pipe leading up to their houses have to ring a call line with all that goes along with that.

Irrespective of the Minister's best efforts and what he is trying to achieve, we are still going down the wrong road and creating a dangerous situation. There is speculation in the international market looking at investments that will yield returns. According to US investment firms, one of the most lucrative currently is water. Water is deemed to be a necessity but it is also deemed to have investment potential which can yield huge returns if not immediately then in future years. We are going down the road of creating a situation where a majority of Members of Dáil and Seanad Éireann could in future years provide for a lucrative financial position. We have a very party-oriented political structure in Ireland. I am not throwing anything across at any Government party. My party is as much to blame. We have a party system in which the whip rules and, ultimately, those in leadership roles give directions to backbench Deputies and Senators to vote legislation through. We have seen it many times from all parties which have also sought to coerce Independent Members to go with them. It is inevitable that will happen in future when an international investor comes along and offers the billions needed to satisfy interests in certain constituencies to build football fields and other amenities.

We are going down a dangerous road. It is wrong. It is a public water supply currently but we are changing that. Deep down in his own heart, the Minister believes it is the wrong way to go too. He might say that Fine Gael and Labour are not going to change it, but there will be election after election and change after change. Offer after offer will be made and the Minister should be under no illusion about it. There are speculators out there now, some of whom are known to Members, who may be interested in purchasing equity stakes in Irish Water in future because it is about profit. The world revolves around finance. I rest my tuppenceworth at that and ask the Minister even at this late stage to allow a referendum to be held. There is nothing to fear in that. The people are entitled to express their opinion and to allow them to do so would strengthen the Minister's position by allowing him to stand up and say the right to water has been galvanised in the Constitution. It is an opportunity that will be missed if it is not availed of.