The next item is No. 128, motion No. 10 regarding public water connection charges. I ask Members to please note the time limits. Under a new procedure approved by the House, the combined speeches of the proposer and seconder shall not exceed 16 minutes, and all other Senators shall have six minutes. I call on Senator Garvey to move the motion and understand that she is sharing time.
Public Water Connection Charges: Motion
Yes, I wish to share my time. I propose to speak for eight minutes and Senators Vincent Martin and Pauline O'Reilly will speak for four minutes each, if that is acceptable.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I move:
"That Seanad Éireann:
notes that:
- the current charge for the installation of a Non Domestic Small 1 connection (necessary for public water bottle refill stations) is €2,272;
- connection charges represent a significant impediment to the installation of public water bottle refill stations by local authorities and community groups;
further notes that:
- it is estimated that over 3 million plastic bottles are purchased in Ireland every day;
- Ireland is the highest producer of plastic packaging per capita in the European Union, producing 65kg of plastic waste per person each year, compared to the EU average of 33kg;
- microplastics have been documented in over 90 per cent of Ireland’s protected marine environments;
- plastic bottles are one of the most commonly found items in clean-ups in towns, villages and on beaches;
welcomes:
- the action already taken by the Government, such as the ban on some common single use plastic items, including cotton bud sticks, cutlery, plates, stirrers and straws;
- the Government’s intention to introduce a deposit and return scheme for plastic bottles and cans in February 2024;
- the increase in public buy-in regarding the reuse of bottles, cups, and other packaging;
recognises:
- the demand for access to free drinking water from people in towns and villages around the country;
- the demand from local authorities and community groups to install public water bottle refill stations;
- the basic human right of access to safe and clean drinking water;
and calls on Uisce Éireann and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to waive connection charges for local authorities and community groups seeking to provide a water connection to public water bottle refill stations.”
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. In summary, the motion states: "the current charge for the installation of a Non Domestic Small 1 connection (necessary for public water bottle refill stations) is €2,272; - connection charges represent a significant impediment to the installation of public water bottle refill stations by local authorities and community groups."
The motion further states: "it is estimated that over 3 million plastic bottles are purchased in Ireland every day," a large proportion of which contain water. The motion continues: "Ireland is the highest producer of plastic packaging per capita in the European Union, producing 65kg of plastic waste per person each year, compared to the EU average of 33kg; - microplastics have been documented in over 90 per cent of Ireland’s protected marine environments; - plastic bottles are one of the most commonly found items in clean-ups in towns, villages and on beaches," according to Tidy Towns Ireland and Irish Business Against Litter, IBAL.
I welcome the actions already taken by the Government such as the ban on some common single-use plastic items including cotton buds, cutlery, plates, stirrers and straws. I welcome the Government’s intention to introduce a deposit and return scheme for plastic bottles and cans in February 2024 which is very exciting.
There is an increase in public buy-in regarding the re-use of bottles, cups and other packaging. I recognise the demand for access to free drinking water for people in towns and villages around the country and in our cities and the demand from local authorities and community groups to install public water bottle refill stations, together with the basic human right of access to safe and clean drinking water. I call on Uisce Éireann and on the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to waive connection charges for local authorities and community groups seeking to provide a water connection to public water bottle refill stations.
When we want a glass of water at home we reach for the glass and a tap but we cannot do that when we are on the go, and we are all on the go these days, everywhere. That is often why we buy water in plastic bottles but this is not good for the environment. It is damaging our climate and our planet, our streets, our rivers and our lakes. This water has to be manufactured and transported, consuming raw materials and energy. It also leads to single-use plastic waste which we can see every day. It also costs money. In fact, bottled water can cost more per litre than petrol or diesel. According to a recent Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, survey, 81% of the population own a reusable water bottle but, also, 80% of people do not know where they can refill it in a public place. These are astounding figures.
By providing easy access to free water refill points, we are trying to change how water is consumed when people are out and about. By using these refill points, we can create our own simple but positive climate action. I want to see these in every village, town and sports complex in the country. Every community group, GAA club and every Tidy Towns committee all have these issues with respect to picking up these plastic water bottles.
Four years ago I held a workshop with 80 teenagers from three secondary schools in Ennistymon. We discussed litter and the solutions to it. A very significant ask by the teenagers was the need for water bottle refill stations. I promised that I would start by getting one in the square in Ennistymon. This took me three years which I must admit is completely insane if we have any hope of sorting things out around plastic reduction. Things like this should not take three years.
The first step I took was to call the county council which asked me straight off if I had €2,300 for the connection fee. By God I said I did not, and I did not know where I would get it either. That was an immediate stumbling block. I then found out that I could use some of the discretionary fund that I receive as a councillor for that connection fee. I do not know, however, if that is the best use that my discretionary fund can be put to because I try to give it to community groups which are trying to fundraise. Luckily, as a councillor I was able to do that but not everybody is a councillor and has access to discretionary funds and, in fact, not every councillor has it either.
I was then thinking about community groups and sports facilities and, if they wanted such a connection, if they have to fundraise €2,300 also. It is not as if they do not do so much as volunteers already in trying to keep things going at a local level by volunteering. That was the impetus for this.
I had also seen a Green Party councillor, David Healy, in his constituency with a very nice flashy water connection and if they had one, then we had to have one, because they cannot just be in nice places in Dublin. I worked with my colleague Kate Ruddock, another Green Party councillor, did some research on this and that is why I am here today with this Private Members’ business.
I was lucky that I had the funding and I was also fortunate that I knew about this other State agency called the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, which many people do not know about, which operates through the local authorities. This office had funding for the units themselves. The unit I had put in is hands-free, is a small space, where one cannot fill, for example, 10 L with it, and it works. People use it, are always saying it is great that they are able to get the water and they use their bottles which they could not have done it otherwise.
I will say just a couple more things before I pass on to my colleagues. I highlight the fact that a great social enterprise or voluntary group, refill.ie, motivated me in some way, and this platform has this great map which shows all of the places it has managed to get to sign up which will allow one to go in and fill one’s water bottle for free. I have used that but it feels somewhat weird to walk into a restaurant, not to buy anything, and to ask them to refill one’s water bottle, even though it is a great initiative. I then thought that these refill points must be accessible on the street, as not everyone is as brazen as I am to go into a restaurant to look for a free bottle refill.
There is something in this and I do not believe it is a very significant ask or a very significant financial loss. I see that many secondary schools are having these refill points put into schools. I have sourced funding for many of the schools that I had worked with in Green-Schools to have these installed. The teenagers then had the habit of refilling their water bottle in school but once they were up town, anywhere else, or out at the weekends, they could not do that.
This is not a very big ask and is a very simple thing. If one can visualise water refill stations in every town, village and sports facility in the country, what a difference that would make to our pockets, our planet and to feeling a little less ridiculous about having a big plastic bottle of water, emptying it, throwing it away or recycling it. Recycling in any event is so 1980s at this stage that we have to reduce our use.
My final point is that every single plastic bottle comes directly from fossil fuels, from the oil we take out of the ground. What a waste of precious fossil fuels it is to turn it into something plastic we are going to use for perhaps a few seconds or a couple of hours and then throw away. I know that this issue went to Cabinet. I hope we get a positive response and I look forward to hearing the response of the Minister of State to this.
I will hand over to my colleague, Senator Martin. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I begin by welcoming the Minister of State to the Chamber and by commending Senator Garvey for leading out on this issue. It is enthusiastically supported, as one might imagine, by Senators Pauline O'Reilly, the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, and myself. We have been campaigning to seek positive inroads for many a long year on this and today, hopefully, could be a day of bright, new, encouraging news but I will wait to hear what the Minister of State has to say.
Senator Garvey has spoken of 3 million plastic bottles being purchased on a daily basis. The statistics are compelling and glaring. That works out, from the most reliable statistics we have, at 21 million bottles per week, which comes in at approximately 1 billion per year. Irish consumers spent more than €76.5 million on bottled water in the past year because it is often bought in bigger containers than, for example, soft drinks. That accounts for the consumption level. More than 152 million litres of bottled water were sold in 2016 where just under 138 million litres of soft drinks were sold in the same year. It takes three times as much water to produce a litre of bottled water than to provide drinking water in taps.
Programmes for Government are important and the programme for Government was negotiated, it seems, a long time ago back in 2020. It was agreed in that programme, and I know the Minister of State is aware of this, that, "We will develop a scheme between the local authorities and Irish Water to provide drinking water fountains nationwide to reduce plastic bottle litter" and that we would, "Phase out the use of single plastics." Our intention in that programme was also "to introduce a deposit-and-return scheme for plastic bottles and aluminium cans, in line with the findings of the recently commissioned report." We should stand as a Green Party proudly accountable on all three of these commitments in the lifetime of this Government. It is our intention to get these commitments over the line.
In my hometown of Naas, we have opened a beautiful vibrant farmers market on a Saturday morning. Phase 2 will happen very soon and is to have a water fountain. That will be made a little bit easier after the success of today.
I conclude by saying that in Naas, we had the reverse vending machine trial period. I will be bringing down the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, for a public meeting when we will reveal the full statistics as part of that. In one town alone in less than ten months over 1.3 million containers went through that machine. It is good to render these containers to a safe place but, ideally, we do not want the 100,000 bottles and the 100,000 aluminium cans going through that machine. Ideally, we would like to phase out plastic altogether because so much of it is causing marine pollution and I believe only 28% of it actually finds its way safely towards being recycled. That is such a small statistic where the rest of it, as single-use plastic, is a scourge which we want to tackle. We want to translate words into action. The Green Party means business on this. This was a big issue with us going into government and I will be more than quietly confident that during the full lifetime of this Government we will have achieved the ticking of those boxes, will have translated words into action when it really matters, and will have a results-based performance in government, with the Green Party as part of this coalition Government.
Go raibh maith agat. I will hand over now, with the leave of the House, to my colleague Senator Pauline O'Reilly.
The Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, is welcome to the Chamber. I thank Senator Garvey for all her work and I also thank Councillor Kate Ruddock for her passion on this topic. When we were kids, there was no such thing as plastic bottles of water. I will not say how much later it is but a little time later and we are surrounded by plastic waste. It is actually one of the real tangible things when it comes to the environment that people see and they can recognise as "This is a change I can make", but we must make change easy for people. Right now, we are out of the house a lot more than when we were younger. We are active people and we do need to have every availability in order to make sure that climate is top of the agenda.
In Galway, my colleague, Councillor Martina O'Connor, along with all of our colleagues, used her allocation from the council to put in a water refill station at Westside Playing Fields. Indeed, an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach will be aware of the Westside Playing Fields. This is brilliant because people are playing sports, they have their bottles with them and they can just go and refill them. It is the point at which people refill their water bottles that they start thinking about all of the other things they can do with their lives, which are the small changes we can make. These kinds of things we do in our daily lives facilitate all climate action.
Again, Senator Garvey is quite right. Why should people use that allocation? Why should it be community groups that then must find sponsorship when actually they are also looking for sponsorship for a whole host of other things, from my experience with the community groups I am involved with? This is a connection request that is just going to Uisce Éireann and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU. This motion is a no-brainer. It fits in with everything else we are doing in government. The Green Party is really leading when it comes to the circular economy. I hate the term "circular economy" because sometimes it is very hard to understand what it means. Essentially, it means looking at our consumer culture and asking, "Can we put a stop to single-use plastics and actually reuse things?" That is what a reusable bottle is. One is putting a stop to something that is just about purchasing and dumping.
I am looking forward to hearing what the Minister of State has to say. I am also looking forward to what colleagues will say across the Chamber. I believe we can all get on board with this. I believe we are all on board with the idea of climate action. We all voted in favour of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. I am hopeful that we will get the support today.
I thank the four Green Party Senators for co-sponsoring this important motion. My colleague has talked about us all being on board. I want to confirm that, yes, I am on board. It is a great idea. I will just speak to a few points on it.
We might all remember - I certainly did - growing up when every schoolyard in the country had a water fountain and it was free. I am not sure if the fountain itself was very clean - but the water was - and everyone drank from that. There was no big mystery around it and it was all quite simple. It was all back to basics. I so happen to be in Spain and Portugal a few times a year and in the villages there they have water. They also have water for washing with community facilities for feeding animals and all sorts of things. There can be the great gathering around the well or a great gathering around the fountain or the watercourse. That is something historically we have had. I fully commend the motion.
We must reduce plastics; it is as simple as that. I do not think it is a big science, might I say, or that there should be challenge for the Green Party in getting it over the line. They are in government. This is a very simple and modest ask. It does not need all guns blazing. I do not see why this motion could not be agreed quickly and rapidly because it makes absolute sense. There are health benefits and there are financial benefits to having water. It is important.
On that point, I also wish to raise an issue around group water schemes. Sometimes we sort of lose all of that. I do not pay water charges in Dublin and other people do not pay water charges. There are group water schemes, however, where people are making contributions. I acknowledge the enormous work that they do. We know from those Members who represent rural constituencies that this is a real big issue.
Last week, I had sent out a circular as part of my weekly communications mentioning that the Green Party motion was coming up, and said that I would be very interested to hear what people had to say about it. It is always important to ask people. My colleague, Independent Councillor Geraldine Donohue from Galway, sent me some correspondences, the latest date of which was 24 February 2023. They relate to the issue of the long-term impact charges, LTI. There is huge inconsistency with these LTI charges and that needs to be looked at and addressed. There is an inconsistency. I have the letters from the Department and from Galway County Council, which are replies to concerns as set out. The most recent letter from Galway County Council says:
Dear Councillor,
I refer to your Notice of Motion which read as follows:
"That the Chief Executive make a statement on the suggestion that the Long-Term Impact Charges imposed on Group Water Schemes and very high and in particular those of Galway County Council and what options are open to Galway County Council to remedy this situation"
One might ask what this has to do with this motion before us today, but it has a lot to do with this motion because it is about water. The letter from Galway County Council went on:
The following is the reply: There have been no increases in the LTI rates in Galway for many years. The council is satisfied that LTI rates are appropriate and reflect the level of impact to the roads network.
There are issues and there are concerns. Water is a scarce commodity and it is a resource. We must look at it again as to who is paying for it. At issue is who will be paying for this source of water. When we consider the motion before us, it is only one ask. There is an issue about further notes. I believe that we all welcome that. We have no problem with that. We recognise and agree with all of that. It is only one ask, which is that Uisce Éireann and the CRU would waive connection charges for local authorities and community groups seeking to provide water connections in the public water bottle refill stations. I hope there would not be too many bottles being refilled and that people will not be watering plants all over the place, but I fully support it.
I thank the Green Party Senators for bringing the motion forward. Sometimes it is those little things that matter. Sometimes we forget the little things but I believe this makes common sense. I would be somewhat shocked and surprised if this was not enacted in a matter of weeks. The questions we would then have to ask would be around what is the delay, what is the problem, and where is the resistance. Hopefully there will not be resistance and hopefully with the Minister of State's political skills he will definitely get it over the line. I wish him well.
I thank Senator Boyhan. There are no Members here from the Fianna Fáil group. From the Fine Gael group we have Senator John Cummins who has six minutes.
I will share my time with Senator Burke if I may.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I compliment my Green Party colleagues on bringing forward the motion. It is an important and timely discussion on water services. We have had yesterday's announcement on the waiving of connection charges for domestic wastewater and water connection charges to try to unlock and speed up the development of housing. The same logic applies here in the development of public water bottle refill bottle refill stations. Thankfully, in my county of Waterford we have had the roll-out of some provision. Waterford has a fantastic greenway that is used by many people. The roll-out of further stations along that and in many other public open spaces would be hugely welcome. I come from a physical education background. I always had my water bottle in my hand in class and I carried it around the school. It is important that we lead by example in trying to reduce the use of single-use plastics.
While I have the opportunity, I will diverge slightly if the Acting Chairperson will allow me some discretion. My query relates to connection charges and the structure that is in place for connecting to buildings that are being repurposed for another use. The Manor Hill development in Waterford city is being done under the repair and lease scheme. Everyone who has visited this has said it is an extraordinary scheme being developed for those aged over 55. It was a former nursing home and it had all of the water and wastewater connections in place.
If the developer had reopened the site as a nursing home, no charges would have applied because all the infrastructure was already there. However, because a planning application was required to convert it into 71 residential units, there were suddenly 71 new connection charges. It is not fair that this should arise in respect of a brownfield site that is being repurposed for housing. It may be applicable for a greenfield site but it absolutely should not apply where the infrastructure is already in place. I ask the Minister of State to assist his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, in taking up and working on this issue.
I thank Senator Cummins for sharing time. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank our colleagues in the Green Party for bringing forward this motion. It is a great proposal from which communities will gain. People in communities have already paid for these types of services down through the years by way of bringing forward group water schemes. People in housing estates have paid for their water connections and for bringing services to their area. The infrastructure for this type of provision is paid for and it is only right and proper that a connection would be made available in such situations for the benefit of communities.
Senator Garvey is right in what she said about the recycling of plastic. Plastic is bulky and plastic bottles are very bulky and light. The cost of transporting and recycling empty bottles must be enormous. I hope everybody who buys a plastic bottle disposes of it in the proper fashion.
I am looking forward to the Minister of State's contribution and to hearing his ideas about these issues. I am in total agreement with colleagues that it is common sense that local authorities should work in conjunction with water services providers to make these facilities available to communities. There is community gain in doing so. Over the years, we have seen the establishment of group water schemes, water connections in towns and the provision of pumps right across the country. The services are paid for and it is only proper order that communities should have some gain from them. I fully support the motion.
I welcome to the Public Gallery a group of retired members of An Garda Síochána from Nenagh, County Tipperary. Cuirimid fáilte rompu go léir anseo tráthnóna inniu.
The Minister of State has 15 minutes to make his contribution.
I thank Senators Garvey, Martin and Pauline O'Reilly for bringing forward this important motion. It is great to see universal support for it in the House. I will try to address some of the points raised by Senators.
There is no doubt that the roll-out of water refill stations across the country is very popular, especially with young people. Buying bottled water is hugely expensive, particularly during the summer months. Young people are demanding and leading change on this issue. I met with primary school pupils from Carlow during a visit to South East Technological University, SETU, this week who asked that the Government address the issue of plastic pollution. As Senator Boyhan said, drinking water fountains were once commonplace in public buildings and spaces throughout the country. I remember them in schools many years ago. It is correct to say that our municipal drinking water is of excellent quality and much better than many of the bottled water brands people are buying, some of which may be high in sodium and not good quality at all. Senators may be familiar with the Story of Stuff campaign on the history of bottled water and how it originated. It is fascinating.
Senator Garvey spoke about how it took three years to get a refill station opened in Ennistymon. We need to ramp this provision up significantly right across the country. I am aware of the refill.ie website.
Senator Boyhan referred to group water schemes. I am a huge supporter and fan of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, which does fantastic work for biodiversity across the country.
I will take Senator Cummins's question on the repair and leasing scheme back to the Department. Waterford City Council has been very effective at using the scheme to leverage extra supply.
The Government does not intend to oppose the motion. I welcome the Senators' acknowledgement in the motion text of the actions taken by the Government to date to address the serious issues they have raised. I will set out for the House the good progress that has been made on each of them. The Government is aware that access to drinking water is a key target under UN sustainable development goal No. 6, which relates to clean water and sanitation, and is central to the recast EU drinking water directive. As Senators are aware, the programme for Government is committed to developing a scheme between local authorities and Uisce Éireann to provide drinking water fountains nationwide and thereby reduce plastic bottle litter. This was referred to by Senator Martin. Senators will also be aware of the single-use plastic initiative from the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, established the drinking water expert group to provide advice on the appropriate preparations and steps necessary for the transposition and successful implementation of the recast EU drinking water directive. The directive has been transposed into law under the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations 2023, SI 99 of 2023. These regulations incorporate regulation No. 16, on access to water intended for human consumption, which provides for improved access to water through raising awareness of outdoor and indoor accessible drinking water and the provision of drinking water in public places and buildings. In response to both the programme for Government commitment and the recast drinking water directive, initiatives have commenced to provide drinking water fountains in public places to improve access to drinking water.
Regarding access for rural communities, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes undertook a pilot scheme in 2022 to install drinking water fountains under four group water schemes to provide access to water as required under the programme for Government. These schemes promote the use of reusable water bottles and a move away from plastic water bottle usage. Due to the level of interest generated by this initiative, a proposal is awaited from the federation to extend the pilot scheme for 2023.
Uisce Éireann has engaged with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, on the provision of public drinking water points, which, among other things, will consider the connection charges associated with such provision. Any changes to the water connections policy for drinking water points will have to be updated in the Uisce Éireann water charges plan and approved by the CRU. We have discussed this previously in the House. A provision has been made in the budget for 2023 to develop a pilot scheme for the provision of drinking water fountains in co-operation with local authorities and Uisce Éireann. Based on the outcome of Uisce Éireann's engagement with the CRU, it will liaise with local authorities to deliver a pilot scheme this year, with a larger programme to be delivered over the coming years based on the outcomes and lessons learned from the pilot scheme. In addition, some local authorities have already rolled out drinking water fountains.
Several Senators raised the issue of marine litter. The Government is keenly aware that plastics are persistent environmental pollutants and are found in all marine environments worldwide. The marine environment team in my Department works to monitor, assess and reduce marine litter, primarily through the marine strategy framework directive, the OSPAR Convention and the implementation of the Microbeads (Prohibition) Act 2019. Education and outreach funded by my Department are a big part of the initiatives to raise awareness and encourage change, including An Taisce's advocacy on marine litter, green schools and clean coasts. Plastics continue to enter and accumulate in the marine environment from land or sea-based sources, both directly as microplastics or as macrolitter that can in turn break down into microplastics. Worldwide, coasts and estuaries close to highly populated areas have the highest abundance of microplastics.
In Ireland, several studies, including one commissioned and funded by my Department and cited in an article in The Irish Times, have been undertaken to determine the amount of microplastics in coasts and offshore sediments. Results from these studies show the number of microplastic particles found per kilogram of sediment in Irish waters is lower than that found in other European countries. To identify trends in and sources of microplastics over the longer term, a national monitoring campaign is being set up in conjunction with the Marine Institute. These data will be reported under the marine strategy framework directive and will enable targeting of measures to manage inputs.
Beach macro-litter monitoring is long-established at designated sites around the coast as part of the OSPAR marine litter monitoring programme. In 2021, an EU-wide threshold value of 20 items per 100 m was introduced. Although at 31 items per 100 m Ireland has not yet reached this threshold value, we are considerably lower than the 250 items per 100 m of the OSPAR region and a decreased trend is observed. Of the marine litter items collected on these beaches, almost 40% were single-use plastic items such as plastic bottles. Again, I pay tribute to all the Clean Coasts communities around the country who are doing invaluable work in cleaning up marine plastics on our beaches.
The recently published marine strategy framework directive programme of measures includes 34 measures to tackle marine litter, ranging from prevention at source to enforcement to continued education and training. In terms of single-use plastics, Ireland is committed to tackling the environmental degradation caused by these plastics and by plastic packaging in general. The Government has supported the introduction of measures to deal with this at EU level and has committed to achieving and exceeding the challenges for member states that have been agreed at EU level.
A Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy: Ireland’s National Waste Policy 2020-2025 sets out an ambitious range of measures to place Ireland at the top of the EU performance with regard to single-use plastics. These include full implementation of the single-use plastics directive, including bans on specific products being placed on the market; the introduction of new producer responsibility initiatives, PRIs; the introduction of environmental levies on disposable coffee cups, cold drink cups and disposable food containers; the introduction of incentivising pricing for commercial waste to improve waste segregation in the commercial sector and support higher levels of plastics recycling; and the introduction of a deposit-and-return scheme for plastic bottles and aluminium beverage cans. The coffee cup levy will be introduced later this year as a means of encouraging people to use reusable cups and, ultimately, eliminate the disposal of 200 million single-use coffee cups, which occurs every year in Ireland. The deposit-and-return scheme is on track for going live in quarter 1 of 2024. The scheme operator, Re-Turn, is in the process of registering producers and retailers to the scheme and a number of retailers already have reverse vending machines in their stores that allow customers to return their used bottles or cans in exchange for credit. Senator Martin highlighted the case in Naas, which has been hugely successful. They are starting to appear all over the country, however.
In terms of single-use plastics and drinking water, I would like to highlight further measures specifically relating to public drinking water and the programmes by which those measures are now being implemented. Measures that promote free public sources of drinking water encourage people to bring a refillable cup or drink from a tap, which includes the local authority prevention network, which has developed a guide for local government and communities that supports access to free drinking-water refill points. It provides funding for the installation of public drinking-water fonts. In 2022, funds were provided to five local authorities for this purpose. The refill.ie website, which was referenced by Senator Garvey, is a non-profit community-led initiative funded by the Environmental protection Agency, EPA, and local government that maps the 1,600-plus locations across the country where reusable water bottles can be refilled for free. The GAA's Green Clubs initiative, funded by local government and Uisce Éireann, provides free reusable bottles to selected clubs. I know the Senator raised the matter with uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael. It is great to see the GAA moving into sustainability and green initiatives. We need all sporting organisations to continue to do this.
Measures are in place to make reusable alternatives to single-use plastics available to consumers in large public events. The local authority prevention network has developed a green festival kit for local festivals. The kit includes a guide and other resources which encourage event organisers to provide drinking-water fonts and reusable cups and glasses to festivalgoers. I certainly know already from the Savour Kilkenny food festival that we have had that in place for the last three years and it has been hugely popular. They have almost eliminated plastic, which, at a food festival, is highly commendable. A guide for plastic-free events is being developed by local government for the event and festival industry, which includes a number of pilot single-use plastic free events. Once the guide is available, work will commence with relevant authorities to look at licensing arrangements for large events with a view to mandating conditions to licences issued prohibiting the use of disposable cups and containers.
Finally, the Exchequer-funded expert group drinking-water fountain pilot project in 2022 will continue this funding into 2023. The longer-term funding for this initiative will be evaluated based on post-project review of the cost benefit associated with the project. My colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is developing proposals to provide support for the delivery of public water fountains across Ireland through the new circular economy fund. These proposals, which will be informed by consultation with my Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, Uisce Éireann and the County and City Management Association, will involve direct funding support for the provision of fountains such as those installed by Monaghan County Council in a number of towns in the county. Proposals will be announced later this year. That is not to take from the really important debate we are having this afternoon.
It is really important that this motion was brought forward. Senator Garvey has brought this up consistently with my me and my colleague. It is really significant that we are now moving on the commitments in the programme for Government to work towards eliminating unnecessary plastic in our environment. That is why the motion that has been brought before us today is hugely valuable in ensuring we have a good debate and move the initiative along. It is absolutely vital that safe public drinking water should be made available as a right to communities right across the country in our public spaces.
I thank the Minister of State. We will move now to the Fianna Fáil slot. I understand Senator Fitzpatrick is sharing time with Senator Murphy.
Absolutely.
The Senators have four minutes and two minutes.
Four minutes and two minutes would be perfect.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I thank the Senators for bringing forward this motion, which I am delighted to support on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party. When I read the motion, it immediately brought to mind the city of Rome. One of its nicknames is La Regina dell'Acqua. Basically, it is a city where water runs free. In fact, in the 19th century Rome was the very first city to introduce free water fountains with potable water. One would drink the same water from a nasoni on the streets in Rome that one would take out of a tap in an apartment or palazzo. It is clean and it is actually cold and chilled. The very uniquely designed nasoni are called a "nose" because they are designed like that. Not only do they accommodate us humans and quench our thirst but they are actually built so that dogs, our four-legged friends, can also avail of the water.
Water is essential for all of us to live and exist. Access to free public water is absolutely something we should be supporting. The added benefit, of course, when there are free water fountains and access to free water fountains is that it helps to reduce waste, it reduces costs and it is environmentally sustainable. It is absolutely to be supported. I commend and support the initiatives that have already been taken by the Department. They are absolutely very welcome. We need to be more ambitious, however. We need to go further with this. As a party, we absolutely support this. I commend the Minister of State for the work he and his officials are doing. Perhaps we could do something to accelerate the process, not just in our cities but right around the country. I will hand over now to my colleague, Senator Murphy.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Fitzpatrick agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Tá súil agam go bhfuil áthas an domhain air a bheith ábalta cúpla focal a rá ar an ábhar seo. Is ábhar tábhachtach é an t-uisce.
The Minister of State is very welcome. Of course, this is a really important point and an important debate. I commend Senators Garvey, Martin and Pauline O'Reilly. As Senator Fitzpatrick said, we fully support this. I apologise; I had an appointment outside this House today and I only got back quite recently, which is why I was a bit late coming in.
I support what has been said by Senator Garvey and our colleagues, and I listened very intently to what the Minister of State said in his address to us. This is a very important issue. Of course, as Senator Paddy Burke said recently, many communities are already paying for water. Within those communities, where we have sports pitches, graveyards or whatever else, we should be well able to put fonts in those places for public use.
In that regard, it is very important we respect water. There is a lot of disrespect for water and it is such a vital commodity. I recently referenced in the Seanad the fact that although they are not as bad as those experienced in parts of Europe and parts of the US and elsewhere, we can get periods of extreme heat here. Mount Dillon, which is very close to my home, is usually one of the warmest places in the country in such periods. We find that some farmers and householders are actually running short of water most summers. That is something we should be very aware of. Water can become a very scarce commodity in this world and we should have enormous respect for it. It should not be wasted or disrespected. In any debate in relation to water and the conservation of it, I am always saying rainwater can be saved. I note that the Government has introduced substantial grants through the new targeted agriculture modernisation scheme, TAMS, and rainwater can be saved. I tell farmers to look at investing in that. Senator Fitzpatrick spoke eloquently about the beautiful waters in Rome. She is very well disposed to the issue. I am not as well disposed, but I am aware of the grave danger of this world and even this country becoming short of water. That is why it should be looked after, respected and not wasted. The issue of public fountains is one I fully support. I support the motion.
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.
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
My colleague Senator Fitzpatrick has outlined our position. I have a couple of queries. I commend Senator Garvey and her colleagues on bringing the motion forward. I think all Members across the House welcome it. We need to expand the scheme as quickly as possible. I am familiar with the area around Milltown, County Galway. The reaction to this measure from people there has been overwhelmingly positive. Regarding the further expansion of the pilot programme being planned for 2023 and 2024, I understand that Uisce Éireann intends to engage with the local authorities. What level of expansion is being planned? Will it be scaled up considerably?
Following on from the conversation earlier, I welcome the GAA's green initiative, as outlined by the president of the organisation earlier. That is very welcome. We need to do more of it. It should be adopted as quickly as possible and it should not just be for one-off events. It should be rolled out across the country and it needs to be scaled up.
I very much welcome this suggestion. I will support the motion as well because it is an excellent one. It is the practical removal of a barrier and it supports people to produce less waste. We need more of these initiatives. When it comes to waste, I am of the view that we need to think in terms of good, better and best. It is good to recycle but it is much better to not produce the waste in the first place, and that is the aim of this initiative.
I have seen the benefit of these fountains in Fingal County Council. In my own area around Dublin 15, we have them in our parks. I find it hard to believe that there are still county councils that are not doing this because we need to see more of them. I have highlighted places like the Phoenix Park, for instance, where there could be more access to fountains like this. I acknowledge that there are challenges in providing fountains and toilets in the Phoenix Park because of access to water supply. However, it should be possible to introduce these in places with high footfall where people are out and about and need them. It is important to put this back on the agenda because during Covid, consumption of single-use plastic increased. We seemed to go backwards regarding single-use disposable items. We have to get the people's mindset back to reusing where possible and being aware of personal consumption.
I completely support the measure but we should focus on the good approach to recycling as well. I see that the deposit return scheme is mentioned here. Our figures for recycling are around the 60% to 70% level. When I think of in-home and out-of-home consumption, that figure resonates with me. We have produced a recycling system in our homes for food, plastics and aluminium cans, but we are not doing that well enough outside the home. We have a major issue with waste outside the home, on the go, which is where a lot of consumption takes place. What are people supposed to do? Are they supposed to buy a can or bottle of something and then carry it around with them all day until they get home to put it in the recycling bin? That is not practical. We are not investing enough in recycling options in our communities. The deposit return scheme is another incentive to get people to recycle. I am really looking forward to it being introduced. However, we do not want it to undermine what we are doing in people's homes. We need it to work and to do so, it has to be convenient. People who are buying products on the go want to use them and dispose of them immediately afterwards, unfortunately. The deposit return machines need to be installed in places where they are a part of people's journey. They need to be in the local retailer, for example. They need to be positioned so that people do not have to go out of their way to find them; otherwise, they will not be used as frequently as they could. People are not going to store up their waste and then bring it to a certain location like a bottle bank. The deposit return machines need to be where people are buying and using the product so they can also dispose of the product responsibly.
I very much look forward to seeing an ecosystem for waste because we do not have an effective ecosystem to deal with the amount of waste we are producing. Until we have the mindset of reusing instead of continually using, we have to support both. It is unrealistic to think people will never buy bottled water, soft drinks or the like on the go.
I am aware that Panda has introduced a €3.80 charge for food waste. That is going backwards from where we need to be. I think people are so much more aware of microplastics - their effects on them from a health perspective and on the environment - but food waste is still not really resonating with people as the issue it is. We need to get much better at our consumption in the first place, but putting in place barriers of €3.80 per lift is not the direction of travel we want.
I thank the Green Party. Well done on a great motion.
It is great to be able to acknowledge for the record that every single party in the House and those not in parties have all supported the motion. It is great the Government is not opposing the motion. It would be insane for it to oppose it.
I am not happy enough with the answer, specifically the timeline for the abolition of the charge. There is none. It is up to the CRU, I believe. How often does it revisit its charging policy? I ask in order that I can go to the community groups and the young people who have been asking me about this with a decent, clear answer as to how long more we will be waiting.
The Minister of State mentioned a pilot scheme, but we do not need a pilot scheme. A pilot scheme is where something new is being tried. We already have water bottle refill stations in several places in Ireland; we just do not have them in very many places. We have had them for three or four years in Howth and Blackrock. We got one in Ennistymon two and a half years ago. We do not need a pilot scheme. We do not accept that. Irish Water and local authorities do not need a pilot scheme. Deputy O'Donnell is Minister of State with responsibility for local authorities. I would love to know if any local authorities have asked him about this issue. I ask him, as Minister of State with responsibility for local authorities, to help me on this and get it over the line. We do not need a pilot scheme. Pilot schemes are to try new things. This is not a new thing. Everybody here is saying this is not a new thing and it is a no-brainer we should have done years ago. I do not accept the response. People say, "You are in government, so it is up to you." It is not up to me on my own, however; it is up to all of us in government together not to accept that a State agency says it needs to do some kind of pilot scheme. We are the people elected by our people. We represent the public. The public want this, so the State agency of Irish Water needs to get over it. I do not accept there needs to be a pilot scheme. That is not a good enough answer. This can be done in a matter of weeks. We get rid of the charge and we get our water bottle refill stations. Everybody here has mentioned the issue of the waste of money and the waste of plastic. We do not need to pilot this in any shape or form. There has already been loads of piloting.
There is a great slide by Denis Murphy, a great Kerry musician, called "Going to the Well for Water". Would it not be great if we were all to meet socially going to our water fountains for water? It would be another lovely social link, and people always want connections. As I and other Senators have said, we need fountains in every village and town. We need them at GAA clubs and sports facilities and amenities. There are some lovely ones along the greenway in Waterford, which is great for people on that greenway, but there is none in the town centres.
I will put it back to Deputy O'Donnell, as Minister of State with responsibility for local government, to ask for a better answer from the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. The Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, read out the answer he got from the Department, but who is in charge? Is it Irish Water and the local authorities or the politicians elected by the people? We have to push back on the State agency's response to this. We do not accept that we need a pilot scheme. It is not needed. I remember 1999, when my son was a baby. I had him on my back when I was in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Milltown Malbay, and my sister, my friend Sharon Tannian and I had signs with three words on them: "reduce", "reuse" and "recycle". "Reduce" was the biggest sign, "reuse" was the second biggest and "recycle" was the smallest. We are still stuck in the 1990s when it comes to this stuff. One huge difference - and it is so simple - would be to get rid of this charge. I do not accept that we need a pilot scheme. I do not accept that from Irish Water. The politician's job is to represent the people. The public want this, so we have to push back on the State agency and say: "Sorry, Irish Water, we are not accepting this." The CRU has to work within the parameters of our programme for Government. We got this in the programme for Government. The response is not good enough. I want a timeline as to when we can envision this for the young people who want this and everybody else.
Question put and agreed to.
When is it proposed to sit again?
Tomorrow, Thursday, at 9.30 a.m.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar athló ar 5.47 p.m. go dtí 9.30 a.m., Déardaoin, an 27 Aibreán 2023.
The Seanad adjourned at 5.47 p.m. until 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, 27 April 2023.