Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I remember very well when the original legislation setting up Irish Water came before the House. As I recall, I was the only Member of either House who raised questions about the proposal to use personal identification numbers. I was assured that the only reason these unique identification numbers were being used was for the purpose of facilitating payment of the conservation grant. I did not press the issue, my rationale being that returning money to taxpayers seemed in principle like a good idea, notwithstanding the broader debate on the merit of water charges. It quickly became obvious, however, despite the assurances given to me, that there were serious question marks in this regard, questions which were raised in due course by the Data Protection Commissioner. As a result, the Government withdrew that particular provision.

The proposals we are discussing today are akin to a wolf in sheep's clothing in so far as they seem mainly to be a way of getting around the Data Protection Commissioner's objections and proceeding with the establishment of a database. When one reads the details of the legislation, it is like going around in circles. The Minister will establish a database or, it seems, an agency could be set up to establish it, and that agency and-or the Minister will then hand over the information contained therein to the Minister for Social Protection, who will use it to pay the conservation grant. Why is it necessary to go all around the houses in this way?

Senator Craughwell's amendment cuts to the chase. Unless the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, can offer reasons other than the ones already given for the need for a separate agency to create a database, I cannot understand why it should be done. Of course the Department of Social Protection needs that information, but does it not already have the means at its disposal to obtain it? What is the need for this legislation? Surely the focus should be on enabling the Department of Social Protection to have access to the information it needs rather than creating yet another agency? As Senator Craughwell eloquently observed, there are unanswered questions around the cost of all of this. If I recall correctly, the Department of Social Protection, from the very beginning, has never quantified the cost to its budget of the dispersal of the €100 grant to households. Perhaps the Minister of State will be able to shed some light in this regard.