Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I want to indicate my support and that of my colleagues in the Civil Engagement Group for this motion from the Green Party. It is welcome, important and the suggestions it makes are very practical. As Senator Boylan has just pointed out, it is important we and the motion recognise that water is not simply a commodity but in fact a human right, and access to clean and safe drinking water is a human right. Indeed, it is one of our obligations under the sustainable development goals, SDGs. SDG 6 focuses on access to clean water and sanitation, and SDG 12, which concerns prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse targets in the circular economy also relates to this motion.

This is an issue I raised in the previous Oireachtas with the then Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten. I am delighted to see it coming back and I hope we can make progress on it now. In the previous Seanad, I wrote to the then Minister on a related issue, namely, free water fountains and bottle refilling stations in schools. It came out of a campaign that Youth Work Ireland had led in Galway. Often, young people have led the way on all of these issues. It produced research that highlighted the lack of proper access to water fountains in schools. For example, St. Enda's College had two water fountains but only one was working and was located in the girls' bathroom, so it was not accessible to all students. Merlin College had one water fountain for 800 students, Our Lady's College had one that was not working, and Galway Community College had no water fountain and plastic water bottles were provided with lunch sometimes. There were also a number of DEIS schools where free lunches were provided with water bottles each day, yet water refilling stations were not made available. This is an example from a few years ago of youth groups leading the way. They pointed to this as something very simple and transformative that could be done. That was a campaign from 2017. I hope that the situation has moved on, and I know it has in some schools.

What the cases of water fountains not working showed is that there was almost an atrophying in terms of access to water. This motion goes much further, and it is very welcome that it does, in that it mentions access to water refilling stations in public places, through community groups and local authorities. I also suggest that any public body that has a public space should be supported in providing water refilling stations. The need for free, accessible, clean water became really clear during the Covid pandemic when many shops and cafés were closed. The pandemic highlighted the need for proper water fountains and their provision in public buildings and spaces at a time when there was often nowhere to get a drink. The fact that Ireland has a deficit of sanitation facilities and access to water in public spaces affected the capacity of persons with disabilities, for example, to participate in public life.

This motion is very positive and is really welcome. We have been speaking about access to water from the perspectives of health and rights. From an environmental perspective, the fact that less than one third of our plastic packaging waste is being recycled is of significant concern. As outlined by Senator Garvey, Ireland's plastic use per person is very significant. At 65 kg per year, it is almost twice the European average of 33 kg.

Another measure which I have highlighted in the past could be used to support this as well. I know we are looking at industrial washing stations. Ireland has only one of these at the moment and they could be a significant measure. The Minister's response has given me a slight cause for concern. While it was very comprehensive and spoke about a lot of schemes, it was not completely clear to me whether the Minister and the Government will follow through on the concrete suggestion being made here. I am referring to the waiving of collection charges. It is fine to say we want to do a special scheme for festivals and it is fine to talk about pilot schemes but this is not something that needs piloting.. The principle of public water is something that has been with us for centuries. We do not need a pilot project to see if it is a good idea. I am slightly concerned that there seemed to be mention of schemes and supports that people could apply for. This will mean unnecessary bureaucracy and paperwork if we are solely doing it in that way. Where people in a community have identified both a need and a willingness to provide water to the rest of their community, they should not be penalised with a charge for doing so. I urge the Government not just to recognise that water is important but also to act on this particular recommendation. The Government should ensure that wherever there is a desire to provide a public fountain, it does not come with a charge. We do not want to end up with community groups competing with each other for a limited number of grants, for example. Let us make it an across the board thing where a good idea can always happen. I urge the Government to be a little clearer in its response and to directly deliver on the suggestion made by Senator Garvey