Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I also welcome the motion and thank the Green Party Senators for bringing it to the House. It is a valid suggestion to waive the connection charges for local authorities and community groups that are seeking to provide a water connection to public water bottle refill stations. We all know, and many have spoken about, how plastic water bottles are a waste, especially when we have such good quality water available. I understand that the regulator is independent of the Government. However, it does operate within the policy sphere laid down the by the Government, so it would be nice to see some action from it on this.

The motion mentions the ban on single-use plastic items. I acted as the single-use plastics directive negotiator for my political group when I was a Member of the European Parliament. At the time, I pushed for much higher targets on obliging producers to use recycled content. We brought amendments calling for the recycling target rate to be 90% by 2025, but unfortunately that was pushed out until 2029, even though we all know the urgency that is required in tackling the plastics crisis. What was really interesting was that, at the time, we got freedom of information, FOI, documents which showed that Ireland was one of the countries that was responsible for that delay. The then Minister, Deputy Naughten, and Repak, the organisation that represents large businesses, were having cosy email exchanges before the public did and were commenting on what position the Government should take. The Government then of course unthinkingly adopted the plastic industry's position as its own and went on to lobby for that position at an EU level. We were discussing earlier the damaging impact of lobbying and how important it is to have controls and transparency over lobbying. We have seen how effective lobbying can be in delaying action on important issues. At the time, there were other jurisdictions that had effectively banned the sale of bottled water. Those jurisdictions have said that where there is water available from the tap that is healthy to drink, there is absolutely no need whatsoever for any bottled water.

I also welcome in the motion the recognition of water as a basic human right. It is another issue I championed in the European Parliament. I was the rapporteur for the right to water resolution. We have all seen, and many here are very familiar with, how political water can become. We saw that in the 2014 elections. We talk about respecting water. Actually, Ireland has some of the lowest water usage in the OECD and some of the lowest rates of water poverty because we do not have water charges. Excepting the Traveller community, which does have issues around access to water, there is practically zero water poverty in this country as a result. In other countries, water access is effectively used to move communities on, including Roma communities. Disconnections are a huge issue in Spain. Therefore, it is really important we recognise water as a human right. When we were negotiating the right to water resolution, we argued that people should be able to go into a restaurant and ask for a water bottle to be filled because water fountains are so few and far between in Ireland. The Restaurants Association of Ireland pushed back and lobbied very effectively against that position.

As I said, I welcome the motion calling for the recognition of the human right to water. It is interesting that in 2010 the Irish Government took the decision not to support a resolution that was proposed at the UN General Assembly. The Government at the time was made up of Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. I am glad to see the Green Party has come round to the idea that water is a human right. The rationale for abstaining on that vote at the UN General Assembly was that there were concerns about the wording of the resolution and the potential legal implications of recognising water as a human right. The decision was rightly criticised by civil society groups and activists. We have moved on a long way from 2010. It is most welcome to see that there now seems to be a consensus on recognising water as a human right. I commend the Green Party Senators on bringing forward this motion. The Sinn Féin delegation completely supports it.