Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom fosta comhbhrón a dhéanamh le Fianna Fáil agus le teaghlach an Uasail Joe Walsh, a fuair bás. Go ndéanfaidh Dia trócaire air.

Ba mhaith liom, ar ábhar eile, mo thacaíocht a thabhairt do na mic léinn a bheidh ag caint as Gaeilge ar feadh 24 uair ar fud na tíre. Tá súil agam go leanfaidh siad ar aghaidh.

Ach níl an t-uisce imithe fós. I want to ask the Taoiseach about the issue of water bills for families awaiting them in trepidation, which issue has still not be sorted out. The anxieties and stress of families has been increased by the Government's unwillingness, even yet, to tell them how much they are to be forced to pay. If this incompetence on behalf of Government was not bad enough we have now learned that Irish Water will fix only the first leak that occurs in a householder's garden. Leaks inside the home or a second leak in a garden will be the sole responsibility of the householder, who will also be forced - this is quite bizarre - to pay for thousands of gallons of leaked water as well as any damage caused by such leaks. If a plumber came to my house to fix a leak and did not do so properly I would be sending for him to fix it as opposed to having to pick up the bill through his incompetence. If this is not bad enough we have also learned that insurance companies are saying that they will limit the liability to householders who face these major bills as a result of burst pipes. Does the Taoiseach believe that this is acceptable?

The Taoiseach will be aware that tens of thousands and scores of other thousands of people throughout this State are protesting and have stated very clearly that they cannot afford to pay this water tax. Perhaps the Taoiseach will set out the Government's position in relation to families being hit with massive bills for water leaks and who are to be denied insurance cover.

Park it.

Deputy Adams seems to want to change the rules all the time. He used the words "níl an t-uisce imithe". Séard a tháinig isteach i m'aigne ná go raibh sé ag caint faoi uisce faoi thalamh.

Tá a lán uisce faoi thalamh.

Tá a fhios aige go maith go bhfuil neart uisce ag imeacht faoi thalamh, suas le 40% den uisce atá cruthaithe ar dtús. Is é sin fáth amháin go bhfuil, agus gur cóir go mbeadh, comhlacht cosúil le hUisce Éireann ann chun infheistíocht a chur ar bun agus é sin a réiteach.

Freagair an cheist.

Múinteoir.

Deputy Adams referred to trepidation and the fear of families. It is important to note that Irish Water has issued a statement clearly stating that irrespective of whether a person has a water meter the first leak between the meter on the road and the gable on the house will be fixed by it free of charge. I do not know where Deputy Adams has been living in the sense that if there is a water leak inside one's house it is the local plumber rather than Irish Water that one should call. If there is a leak between the meter and the wall of the house, one should also call the plumber. Irish Water will fix the first leak on the private property of the house owner. Thereafter, it is the local plumber that one calls.

I want to put Deputy Adams's mind at ease. The Deputy and members of his party, even though they might have been in far away fields, have been putting out headlines around the country that people will be paying €1,500, €2,000 or €2,500 for their water. That is the kind of fear they are spreading among the population.

Who said that?

Where was that said?

I have had people from Sligo report to me that members of the Deputy's party have been saying that all of the contributions that come from people will go towards paying German banks. They are becoming more imaginative in their assessments here.

Those assessments are gone to their heads.

Government will deal with this matter next week and will put at ease people's fears and concerns. We will deal with the issues that the people have raised and the concerns and anxieties they have expressed. We will bring about a resolution to this matter which will be clear, fair, affordable, accountable and will address the many issues that have been raised with Deputies on all sides of the House and by way of protests around the country over the last number of weeks. It is important to listen to and hear controversy but it is more important to act on it. That is what Government will do next week.

Spin time.

The Government created the mess. Listening to the Taoiseach's answers, I am reminded of Flann O'Brien who would be stretched to write such creative pieces of prose.

I asked the Taoiseach about insurance companies' proposals to limit liability but he did not answer it. I have a further question. The Taoiseach will recall that the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, was forced to abandon the threat by former Minister, Phil Hogan, that those who could not or would not pay the water tax would have their water reduced to a trickle. I recall the Taoiseach also saying that to me here. That seems to have gone away. However, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, has refused to rule out the option of the Revenue Commissioners going after those citizens who cannot pay water charges. The Taoiseach has also failed to rule out the Department of Social Protection deducting water charges from people's social welfare payments. Perhaps the Taoiseach, who continually speaks about clarity and the need for it, would take this opportunity to clear up this issue today. Will the Taoiseach state, with the clarity he espouses, that under no circumstances will the Government use the threat of the Revenue Commissioners to take money from people's hard earned wages to pay the water tax?

Will he also say with the transparency, clarity and clearness of which he is so praiseworthy that those in receipt of social welfare will not have money taken directly from their payments to pay his unwanted, unjust and widely rejected tax.

As I said to the Deputy last week, he supports everybody who pays, who does not pay and who cannot pay. It is true that because of particular circumstances there is always a coterie of people who would find it very difficult to make any payment. We have had difficulties in the past with various other schemes and there has always been a facility to deal with that.

The insurance companies have been vocal about leaks in the houses, in particular in winter time when pipes can burst. This is always, and has always been, a feature of insurance for homes and houses and people have become very used to taking precautions, depending on the severity of the winter, so that pipes would not burst and leaks would not occur when they are away. The concern is not really an imaginary hundreds of thousands of litres of water leaking but the destruction of the house. A very small amount of water can destroy houses which have been carefully looked after by the people who own them. One would hope that would not happen, that people would take precautions and that the internal water systems in their homes would be capable of withstanding heavy frost or whatever. It is the destruction of the house and its contents which is always of interest here.

As I said, we will deal with all of these questions next week-----

And Revenue.

-----and Revenue and social welfare. We will deal with all of these questions next week. In terms of governance, the management, the structure, the call-outs and all of the issues raised by people, the Government has listened very carefully to what they have had to say and we will deal with it comprehensively and fairly next week. Far from the €1,500 to €2,000, about which some of Deputy Adams's people around the country have been talking, even he will get a pleasant dose of reality for once.

That is three of Deputy Adams's dinners.

Free dinners.

I call Deputy Catherine Murphy.

The Taoiseach has woken up out of a coma.

You are not Deputy Catherine Murphy, are you?

I am not.

I have called her. Would you mind letting her speak?

De Valera had free beef, Deputy Adams has something else.

There is nothing free from the Blueshirts.