David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Essentially, this is meaningless. All it is is a promise by the Government put into legislation which can be undone by one simple vote of the Oireachtas. Accordingly, the people do not have any say.

Earlier, Senator Lorraine Higgins of the Labour Party said we now have a guarantee that there will be a plebiscite on the ownership of Irish Water. There is no guarantee. This is smoke and mirrors of the worst kind. The Government cannot give that guarantee. The only way such a guarantee can be given is if we have a referendum for an amendment to insert into the Constitution the right of the citizens to make such a fundamental decision. The Minister, along with other Senators, claimed getting the right wording for such an amendment would be a difficult. We had a Constitutional Convention, of which I was a member, that examined difficult and complex issues. It made several recommendations to hold referendums on a range of issues. It properly teased out and ventilated all of the concerns about certain constitutional amendments and any potential unintended consequences that may arise. The Minister could have reinvigorated the Constitutional Convention or a similar forum to properly ventilate all the issues, explore unintended consequences and then come up with a formula of words that would protect our water.

This issue is being made very complicated when, in fact, it is very simple. Senator Bradford made a very good contribution earlier when he essentially said the same. There is no point in any of us here pretending and codding ourselves, because nobody outside this House believes the Government. There is no point in any Independent Senator pretending that, if we pass this Bill today, the concerns people have about privatisation are gone. The people are not silly. The Minister has just conceded that all it would take is a repeal of this section and it is gone. It is all hocus-pocus.