During the debate on the motion of no confidence in the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and his housing policy, I had another reason for expressing no confidence in him. Three years ago a Bill passed Second Stage in this House without opposition, the Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Water in Public Ownership) (No. 2) Bill 2016, which seeks to enshrine public ownership and management of public water services in the Constitution. It is sponsored by the Right2Water Deputies in the Dáil. The Bill has been trapped in committee for three years, first by the Tánaiste, when he was Minister, and since then by the current Minister, Deputy Murphy. The excuse given over and over is that the Minister is waiting for an amendment or amendments to the Bill from the Attorney General but, after three years of hearing this, it is just not credible. The intention of the Minister, in my opinion, is and has been to bury my Bill in committee. The Minister does not have the guts to come into the Dáil and argue against and vote against the Bill. His purpose is to leave open the possibility of privatising our water services at some point in the future.

This is yet another disgraceful example of the disregard for basic democracy and the decisions of elected representatives of the people.

I am really concerned now that the Bill will not see the light of day given the Minister's continuing inaction. The Right2Water unions are in the process of contacting all parties and groupings in the Dáil about this issue. Thousands upon thousands of people are hugely concerned and angered that Fine Gael is trying to bury the Bill. The very reason communities stopped the installation of water meters was the deeply held understanding that every meter that went into the ground was another step towards privatisation. Local authority workers in water services want a referendum and support my Bill. The Joint Committee on Future Funding of Domestic Water Services supported a referendum to keep our water in public ownership. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions supports a referendum on public ownership. There is no opposition to the Bill in the Dáil on paper. The Government, however, is still trying to bury the Bill and drag it into the next election.

Again, I call on the Minister, Deputy Murphy, to bring forward the amendment or amendments that he said, in a letter to the committee last July, would be ready by this autumn or, as I said, have the guts to come into the Dáil and argue against and vote against the Bill.

We as a Government are investing more in the infrastructure of our water than at any time in the history of the State. We take it exceptionally seriously. That is why the previous Government attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to introduce a reliable and consistent funding stream to invest in something that is absolutely crucial for day-to-day living. I think we all recognise that. That boat has very much sailed. The mantra of many people in this House, however, that the idea behind that sustainable funding stream was that we could privatise the service, was an absolute myth and was never borne out by anything close to resembling reality.

When the Minister, Deputy Murphy, tells Deputy Collins he is working with the Attorney General to try to come up with responses to her Bill, I have absolutely no doubt that is true. I do not agree with what she is trying to do, and there are probably other Members of the House who do not. At the end of the day, however, we are a minority Government. If there were consensus among everyone else in the House to do what Deputy Collins wants to do, we would not be having this conversation. Her Bill would probably have already passed. I know that the Minister has attempted to be as constructive as possible over recent years in respect of the Deputy's Bill and will continue to do so. I am not sure whether she has a date for the next step of the Bill. I will relate to the Minister her upset and disagreement with his response to her over recent months and come back to her with a response later.

I did not ask about funding. Water is a human right. We have worked with the Minister, Deputy Murphy, on this on the committee. We have met the Department twice, once ourselves and once with a barrister. The Minister has recognised this. We tried to get the Bill to Committee Stage in April and the Minister, because he had not got the Attorney General amendment, urged the committee to postpone that meeting. He got six members - three Fine Gael, two Fianna Fáil and one rural Independent - to postpone that meeting. He said in July, in a letter to the committee, that he would have the working amendments to bring before the committee by this autumn. I have the letter from the Minister here. This still has not happened. After Christmas we will probably have at a maximum 40 working days left in this Dáil. The Government, when it wants to, as with the liquidation of IBRC, can bring in legislation overnight. Why has the Minister taken so long to bring forward the amendments he said he would bring forward? I believe he is trying to bury the Bill. He will not do that, as far as I am concerned and, I hope, as far as the Opposition and the rest of the Dáil are concerned.

Again, we are a minority Government. If the democratic vote taken at the committee that day had gone a different way, we would be having a different conversation.

That is not the question.

Again, if the Deputy had consensus for her view-----

Where are the Minister's amendments?

-----we would not be in the position we are in.

Where are the Minister's amendments? Answer the question.

What I have said-----

Deputies, please.

Do Deputies opposite want me to answer or not, or does everyone want to have a little blather among themselves?

I would prefer if the Minister answered the question. It is called Leaders' Questions, after all.

The Minister is responding to Deputy Collins's question.

The thing about Leaders' Questions is that one gets to ask a question and then one is supposed to listen for the answer, not slag, as Deputy Ó Broin always does.

I am listening. I am waiting for the answer.

Deputies, please. I will move on.

Slagging is not a policy.

There will be no answer. I will move on.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Will the Minister, Deputy Doherty, ask the Minister, Deputy Murphy, to bring the amendments to the committee?