Tairgim:
Go gceadófar go dtabharfar isteach Bille dá ngairtear Acht chun an Bunreacht a leasú.
I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Constitution.
The Bill reads for itself and seeks to amend Article 28A of the Constitution. The text set out in Part 1 of the Schedule shall be inserted after Article 28A.2 or 28A.4. The text states: "The Government shall be collectively responsible for the protection, management and maintenance of the public water system, and the Government shall ensure, in the public interest, that this resource remains in public ownership and management."
This emanates from the mass campaign of non-payment and resistance to the water charges and Irish Water. It comes from the Right2Change and Right2Water movement and is signed by 29 Deputies. Those who did not sign would have liked to have done so but they had not done so by the time we had to put in the Bill at 3 p.m. yesterday. This would have cross-party support and I have heard Members of the Fianna Fáil Party saying they support a referendum and public ownership of water. I have heard similar statements from the Labour Party and other groups in the Opposition.
