Seamus Healy demands: Where is the water referendum?

Go raibh maith agat, Ceann Comhairle. Taoiseach, as Fianna Fáil leader, you and Fianna Fáil entered a confidence and supply arrangement with Fine Gael in 2016, ten years ago. That was in the wake of large-scale water protests, which resulted eventually in the abolition of domestic water charges and the setting up of a special Éireachtas Committee on Water Services. Myself and former Deputy Thomas Pringle represented the independent TAs on that committee. That government, which you supported, promised and committed to bring forward a referendum to put public ownership of water services into the constitution, into Bunroch na hÉireann. Ten years later, we are now no nearer that referendum. I want to compliment former TDs and colleagues, Joan Collins and Thomas Pringle, for their efforts in pursuing this referendum and introducing the 35th amendment of the constitution, water in the public services, water in the public ownership bill. In the intervening years, Taoiseach, those ten years, there's been many commitments from successive Taoiseachs and successive ministers, giving that commitment once again. In 2017, the Éireachtas Committee on Water unanimously agreed that a referendum should be held. In 2019, Minister Eoin Murphy, Fianna Ghaeil, promised that a referendum would take place in the first half of next year, that's 2020. The Programme for Government in 2020, our shared future, again promised a referendum, and I quote, to retain Irish water in public ownership as a national stand-alone regulated utility. In November 2022, as Taoiseach, you told the Dáil that the government intended holding a referendum on housing and water in, as you said, the near future, and that Minister Darrow O'Brien would be in a position to act on these issues early in the new year, that's 2023. In March 2023, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the government is committed to a constitutional referendum to keep Irish water in public ownership. Ten years later, Taoiseach, and after all those commitments, we're no nearer that referendum. So the questions to Taoiseach are, where is the 35th amendment of the constitution, water in public ownership bill? When will the minister bring this bill forward to the Dáil? And when does your government intend to call a referendum to put water services into the constitution as a public utility? Thank you. Thank you Deputy. First of all, I do remember the chronology of events very well, and in terms of the issue of keeping the provision of water in public control and public ownership, government has fulfilled that. Irish water is entirely publicly owned, will remain so, and recently the government in the context of the national development plan have allocated unprecedented funding to Irish water for the development of water infrastructure across the length and breadth of the country. And the urgency right now, and the imperative right now, is to fundamentally improve the water supply infrastructure. It is a key utility, and the state is investing unprecedented amounts of taxpayers' money to make sure that we can get the big waste water treatment plants through the Midlands Eastern project, and it will be interesting to see if the House will support that. That's a very important piece of public infrastructure, that if it does not happen within a decade or so, the Midlands and Dublin and other areas will be running out of water in the east coast. Likewise, in terms of the waste water treatment plant and the Dublin drainage project, there's big projects underway, and that's where all the focus has been and will continue to be, Deputy. It's arguable at this stage whether really a referendum is required at all in respect of this. There's unanimity in the House in respect of keeping it in public ownership. It will stay in public ownership. And of course, when it comes to constitutional amendments, the devil is always in the detail and in the framing of the language and the wording, and that is always problematic and challenging. At the best of time, I think the more important point is that there are no proposals from anybody around the privatisation of Irish water or aid of water services. I think the more important focus for us is repairing and upgrading the existing infrastructure, but also expanding it, because utilities are key to the future of our society and future economy. And that is why we're putting huge amounts of money and equity into Irish water, to make sure that they have the capacity to do the kind of work that is required. And I think in the last three years, and particularly in the context of the National Development Plan, the allocation, I think, underpins now really significant growth and development of water infrastructure and supplies in this country. The key question will be, can we get community buy-in? Can we get political buy-in to the kind of projects that the country requires? And can we avoid partisan rows that would undermine the national and public interest? Thank you Taoiseach. Deputy Healy to respond. Well Taoiseach, you certainly haven't honoured your commitment. Ten years of commitments, as I've outlined, and you've broken all those commitments, and you haven't answered the questions. And we can only presume, Taoiseach, that you and the government wish to keep the door open for the future privatisation of water services in this country. And you must know that that, if it happened, would be an absolute disaster. We only need to look across the water to the UK. The UK water sector struggles with a combination of massive debt, failing infrastructure, and underinvestment. And it's now generally accepted that the UK privatised for profit water services is flawed, where profits and dividends are prioritised over modernisation. Thames Water, for instance, have a debt burden of about £20 billion and are facing collapse. So Taoiseach, close the door towards privatisation. Announce a referendum as you committed over the last ten years, yourself and previous Taoiseach, and honour those commitments. Well I remember well during the negotiations in the Dáil, when we were in opposition, but to make sure that the country had a government, which is something you never quite had to worry about, because you were always in splendid isolation and splendid opposition, which was your entitlement to be. But the point I'm making is, what we negotiated was, if I could be allowed to answer, what, look, again Deputy, I'm trying to, but you're interrupting.