Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ghandi once said that the future depends on what we do today. Our future depends on what we do today about water. I accept the assurances offered by the Minister and this Government that they will not privatise water but that is not the point. The Minister will not be there forever. Any measure we put into the Statute Book should be strong enough to prevent unintended consequences in the future. Given that legislation can always be changed, the only way to prevent privatisation is by offering the Irish people an opportunity to put it into the Constitution. We are all saying the same thing but what problem are we trying to solve? Water and its sources should remain in public ownership and in the hands of Irish people in perpetuity. We all agree that is what we want to achieve but we disagree about the best way to achieve it.

At times like this, it is a pity that we did not have political reform. The whip should have been lifted because I am sure a number of Fine Gael and Labour Party Senators who do not want to introduce any sort of risk of privatising water into our Statute Book. We are leaving the door open to privatisation. Senator Gilroy put forward valid arguments about how we would handle water passing through private property but Senator Craughwell observed that we have already addressed this issue with gas lines. What about European competition law? Senator Heffernan outlined interesting figures yesterday which revealed that after the grants and subventions to Irish Water, its revenue would be €60 million per annum even if everyone signed up. What infrastructure would that fund? If only 50% pay, Irish Water will be in the red. If Irish Water is in the red, it definitely will be open to privatisation. Please think again. All we are trying to do is protect water as a resource, as well as its sources, including Lough Corrib, the River Shannon and lakes in the midlands. Why would we leave even the slightest doubt that they could be taken over?