This day nine years ago, more than 88,000 people marched for the Right2Water campaign. One of its demands was to keep water permanently in public hands. Many parliamentary members of the Government parties signed the SIPTU petition - I am holding a photograph of one of them signing it - supporting this demand in 2015. On World Water Day tomorrow, I will chair a uniting the community public meeting at 7.30 p.m. at Wynn's Hotel, recognising that goal has still not been met. The meeting will outline a strategy to pressure the Government to keep its promise of a water referendum. This will be followed by two motions at the Unite conference in April to support that strategy. I am positive these will be passed.

Water service workers in local authorities are refusing to move to Uisce Éireann until this referendum takes place. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, promised a referendum, alongside a right to housing referendum. We were told this would happen early in 2023 and then last November. It did not. In reply to a parliamentary question in February, we were told it would take place in the not-too-distant future.

I am afraid the Deputy's time is up.

Will the Tánaiste confirm that the Government will hold a referendum on the public ownership, management and maintenance of our water system, and when it will hold it?

As we know, referendums can be very complex.

I know. You would probably win this one.

The first row will be about the wording.

If you do not change the wording.

I make the point that we now have a national State body in public ownership. There is no question of the privatisation of Irish Water or water supplies at all-----

That is no guarantee. The Government could change that.

-----other than the group water schemes, which are private schemes delivered by local communities. It is simple to propose referendums, but we have all learned the complexity involved in-----

The key thing is it will be in the Constitution-----

-----formulating a referendum proposal and delivering one through-----

-----so no future governments can change it.