Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his time. I also thank the proposers for the motion. What is interesting about the motion is that it is a carbon copy of what is in the programme for Government. I keep the programme for Government on my desk, look at it every day and tick off its contents to see how they are being achieved. It is early days yet, not even a year since the Government was formed, so we have to be fair and reasonable in opposition. We have to allow time for the new system, personnel and policies to bed in.

I take up the great challenge Senator Martin talked about. He said the Opposition needs to challenge. We need to challenge, but we need to do so in a responsible way and we need to give the Government time. What is interesting about this motion is that every word of it is contained in the programme for Government on pages 40 and 41.I have taken a copy of them, which I have with me should any Member wish to challenge me. It is interesting that only a few sentences were left out. That tells its own story.

The sentences are as follows. On page 40, under the heading of "Conservation", it is stated: "The Government will continue to provide a generous free allowance of water to every citizen to meet their basic everyday needs and provide an extra free allocation to people with specific health needs." That is one of the five sentences that were left out. The second reads that the Government will: "Conduct a feasibility study examining how further assistance can be given to low-income households for the installation of water efficient appliances." Again, for the record of the House and for the benefit of the stenographers, the sentences are on page 40 of the programme for Government, should anyone wish to check. There is another section about energy that is not mentioned and one on forestry, which I will not go into. Two or three sentences were missing. That is telling. I have not yet been able to find out why they were missing, which is of concern to me.

I agree with everything in this motion. I have no difficulty with it. I want to zone in on a few points. In particular, I wish to focus on Irish Water. We know what Irish Water it responsible for the production of over 608 billion litres of fresh water each year. It is also responsible for wastewater treatment before it is returned to our rivers and the sea. Water services are essential to the daily lives of our citizens and to our economy. We all know that and agree with it. It is no big mystery. They are critical to achieving sustainable development and a clean environment and to protecting the environment. It is important that we address the issues at hand. I will specifically spend my time addressing the issues relating to Irish Water.

Irish Water administers this amazing resource for us. We must be conscious of the needs and expectations of the citizens in respect of water, and specifically fresh water supply, both commercial and domestic. We must ensure that we recognise international standards in respect of water, whether they relate to environmental concerns, water consumption, health, and all those issues. We must also support the principles of social, economic and environmental sustainability. Nobody has a problem with that.

I now wish to turn to the Water Sector Transformation Policy Paper, entitled Irish Water: Towards a National, Publicly-Owned, Regulated Water Services Utility, which was published on the Government's website on 23 February 2021. I am now displaying the cover of the document so that it is clear for all Members tomorrow and the next day what we were talking about and what might have been suggested. The paper states that the Government will amend legislation to make Irish Water a publicly-owned, national stand-alone company. It raises serious concerns about the 3,200 local government workers, who are groundsmen, grafters, engineers, plumbers and administrators.

This group of people are on the ground. Our 31 local authorities have done an exceptionally good job. I have spoken to many local authority councillors, chief executives and members of staff. They have talked about the importance of knowledge transfer and what is happening on the ground in these 31 local authorities. They have talked about the importance of their relationships with city and county councillors. They have also spoken of their concerns in relation to Irish Water when they face a problem.

Interestingly, as part of my research, I came upon a case that was reported in The Clare Echo. It detailed that in Miltown Malbay in County Clare, which the Senator knows very well, residents went without fresh water for 72 hours in February of this year. It was reported that there was complete uncertainty and a lack of knowledge as to what was happening and when the fresh water supply would return. I have also heard about a case in Lettermore in Connemara, County Galway, in which over 900 homes were issued with boil water notices for a whole month. When local authority staff tried to get an answer from Irish Water as to what was happening, nobody had one. In essence, what I am saying is that the value of water is important.

I thank the trade union movement which has been heavily involved in this work and in supporting the local authority workers. I want to see greater emphasis on, and support for, the workers in these local authorities. I want to see greater continuity between Irish Water and local authorities so that we can deliver good quality, fresh and healthy water, and protect our environment.I have no difficulty in fully accepting what the proposers of the motion are attempting to do, which is to reinstate what is policy in the programme for Government, which should come as no surprise. I wish the Government collectively every success with its policy as set out in the motion.