Seanad debates

Wednesday, 13 January 2016

2:30 pm

Photo of Jim WalshJim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Of all the brainless decisions made by the Government in the past five years, the decision to establish Irish Water is top of the list. It exceeds all other bad decisions taken by the Government, many of which have impacted on the most vulnerable. There has been a total disregard of people who are vulnerable. The decision to establish Irish Water and the resultant imposition of water charges impact on all those severe income issues. Despite the fact that the Government had set out in its manifesto that it would abolish many of the quangos established in the past few decades, a proposal I supported, it established the mother of all quangos in Uisce Éireann. As stated by Senator Michael Mullins, the figure of €750 million referred to in the motion for the cost of establishment of Irish Water is not correct. The motion actually states the cost is over €750 million. The true figure is €785 million.

For the benefit of Senators on the opposite side, I will outline the profligacy of the Government. According to consultants, the set-up cost of Irish Water was to be €172 million. It is well known that low-performing public servants, of whom there have been many in local authorities during the years, will always cover themselves by commissioning consultants' reports, regardless of the cost, which, in the event of something not working out in the way intended, will excuse them. The manner in which the sume of €172 million was spent constituted a waste of hard-pressed taxpayers' money. The cost of water meter installation in 2015 was €540 million, yet the meters will not come into operation until, I think, 2019. Given that at that stage we may be approaching another election, my suspicion is that their operation will be postponed such that, in effect, we will derive no benefit from them. The cost interest payable on the loan is €25 million, while Irish Water administration and wage costs for the year are €45 million, all of which bring the figure to €785 million. I, therefore, agree with Senator Michael Mullins that the figure of €750 million is not correct. It is, in fact, too low.

The establishment of Irish Water could have been achieved more economically by creating a dynamic within local government. Many county and town councils which were abolished by the Minister who established Irish Water were on top of their wastewater programmes and the provision of quality water schemes. While some were not, the cure was to make chief executives within the local government system to perform better. Structures should have been put in place to ensure this would happen. This should apply across the public service. However, what happened was that the local government officials involved were transferred to the new quango known as Uisce Éireann. When the level of overstaffing was exposed, we were told that the position would work itself out by 2026.

Everybody here knows that owing to the economic downturn we have experienced many people have either lost their jobs or are in jobs that pay low wages. Many of the people involved are over-leveraged in terms of debt and struggling to meet repayments on their homes and have little discretionary income. I have no objection in principle to water charges. When they were first proposed in 1983 by the then leader of the Labour Party and Minister for the Environment, Dick Spring, the majority of Fianna Fáil members on the council on which I served, urged by me, supported their introduction. Subsequently, when Deputy Joan Burton was in danger of losing her seat to Deputy Joe Higgins in a by-election, it was decided to do away with water charges, leaving the Government with a political conundrum of having to introduce them. As a former colleague in this House often said, "It is never the wrong thing to do the right thing." The lesson for the Labour Party is that it is never the right time to do the wrong thing, which is what is happening.

It is my understanding that approximately 55% of consumers have not paid their water charges. Again, it is a case of overloading the willing horse. If that is the case, what will happen to those who refuse to pay? What action will be taken against them and what does the Government propose to do in terms of the investment needed? As I understand it, an investment in water infrastructure of €5.5 billion is required. Irish Water has no hope of raising that capital on private markets because it has failed the EUROSTAT test. As such, the reason for its establishment has been undermined. I support the call made in the motion for its dismantling and the abolition of water charges until such time as the water infrastructure has been put right.

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