Seanad debates

Friday, 19 December 2014

Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage

 

3:30 pm

Photo of Thomas ByrneThomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The reality is that we have plebiscites in other legislation. There is a plebiscite in planning legislation whereby there can be a plebiscite to have a housing estate taken into charge. What is the practice with those plebiscites? The practice is that the residents just fill out a form and submit it to the council. It is not a vote. It is not a referendum of the residents of the housing estate in my experience of those types of plebiscites in County Meath. There is no definition of a plebiscite. There is an implication here that there are votes, but there is nothing specifying that this event, whatever it is, will be akin to a referendum for changing the Constitution. It mentions votes.

The Minister is given extraordinary powers under section 2(6) to make all the rules relating to this plebiscite, whatever it is. With constitutional referendums, not only do we have the Constitution of Ireland to guide us in how to carry out those referendums, but we have so much legislation to deal with all the related issues. It is important that is dealt with by primary legislation because the Minister does not have the powers to make all the rules I believe this legislation purports to give him.

With referendums, we also have the benefit of a referendum commission, which ensures equal treatment of both sides of the debate. Presumably if any future Government were to come to holding a plebiscite, it would be advocating for the plebiscite and would be proposing the sale of a share or shares in Irish Water. It would then be in its interest to persuade the public as best it can.

There is nothing in the legislation to prohibit the spending of Government money to promote a "Yes" vote on the sale of shares in a plebiscite, whereas there is for a referendum. There is absolutely nothing about that.

There is a provision that the Minister can make regulations, but it is such a broad provision that is almost as if the Minister is taking upon himself the powers of the Oireachtas to legislate for this. If the Minister were allowed to do that, why do we have Referendum Acts? In that case surely the Minister of the day could just issue regulations instead of having detailed provisions about polling places and ballot papers. The issue of ballot papers in referendums has been a contentious issue. There is nothing about that here.

We are talking generally and not talking about the present Minister, Deputy Kelly. That is the whole point as to why we want absolute protection on this.

There is simply nothing here. The Government could decide - probably 30 years later - that it wants to sell it and that it will go to a plebiscite. It would be open to it under this legislation simply to put a leaflet in the door of every house stating "Sign and return if you want Irish Water to be sold or not". That is the precedent we have for plebiscites in this country under the Planning and Development Act. As I understand it, what happens is that the forms are signed and put back to the council. There is no vote taken in the local community hall.

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