David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I did not interrupt the Minister and it is time he sat back and listened to the response. He made a lengthy and passionate contribution but, in reality, it was meaningless for the following reasons. It was easy for him to say, as a Minister, as a citizen and as a person, that "over my dead body will our water be privatised". Any Senator in this Chamber could stand up and say exactly the same. This issue is not about the Minister, me, his party, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, any political party or any Independent but about the process. We have been asked to deal with here a process that could, potentially, allow for the water services to be privatised at some point in time in the future. That is the question.

The Minister also said that he found it very difficult to imagine a set of circumstances in which our water could be privatised. He asked what government in their right mind would privatise our water services.

I am sure six weeks, six months or even six years before the bank guarantee the same question could have been asked. What Government in its right mind would put €90 billion of taxpayers’ money into private banks?