Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The previous Government introduced property taxes and got away with it. Then it introduced the incremental charges, one of which was water charges. I am from Galway city and most of my family is involved in the tourism industry there. When cryptosporidium arrived in Galway, it devastated them. They had to buy gallons of bottled water every day. There is no getting away from the fact that we must pay for water in this country. We, and by "we" I mean the collective political influences in this country, have allowed the water systems to fall into a state of dilapidation which is not just regrettable but disgraceful. We are still working with Victorian pipes. There are still lead pipes running through back gardens in Tralee, Dublin and in other cities and towns throughout the country, and there is no way we can replace them under the current system. We do not have the money to do it.