Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is dócha go mbeadh an leasú seo an-tábhachtach don Bhille atá os ár gcomhair inniu.

I would like to commend Senator Barrett on this amendment. A plebiscite on the ownership of Irish Water is essential if water is to remain within the ownership of the Irish people. I said on Second Stage, and would have said again on Committee Stage, that I am certainly not enamoured with monopolies. Public monopolies are not quite as bad as private monopolies. What we have in Uisce Éireann is a public monopoly. Unfortunately, it has started in the worst possible way, with all the excesses we would associate with some of the longer-established public or semi-private sector companies. Mention has been made of ESB, for example-----