I wish the Cathaoirleach and every Member of the House a very happy, prosperous and peaceful new year.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, as the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, is to be in the Seanad from 3.45 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to the Order of Business. I propose that an hour be set aside to discuss the debacle at Irish Water, given that the Minister will be present. I am sure many of us will attempt to raise some of these issues during the Local Government Reform Bill 2013 debate and be ruled out of order. As the Minister will be in the Chamber, it would be useful for him to answer questions being asked of him by people outside the House. He should be answering such questions in the Seanad.

The Leader is aware that before the Christmas recess, we had a very lengthy debate on the Water Services (No. 2) Bill. Although the debate on the Bill was guillotined, there were many hours of debate. We in Sinn Féin, with members of Fianna Fáil and Independents, raised many questions about salaries, the cost of establishing Irish Water and the transfer of assets from local authorities to Irish Water. We were accused by those on the Government side of asking the same questions over and over again and going around in circles. I stated at the time that we were asking the same questions because we simply were not getting the answers. We did not get answers about salary caps and bonuses when we asked questions. Not once did the Minister of State present indicate that bonuses were in place. We also asked about the cost of establishing Irish Water and not once were we told that up to €80 million was spent on consultancy fees. We also asked about the transfer of assets but did not get the required information. The Bill was rushed through the Dáil and the Opposition walked out because Members were given only a couple of hours to discuss it. This is not new governance or the new way of doing politics that the Government promised. Debates on Bills like this are guillotined and they are rushed through and Oireachtas Members are not given the information required before they can pass Bills.

I am proud of the fact that I did not vote for the Water Services (No. 2) Bill and buy a pig in a poke. That is what I stated at the time. I stood against the Bill and I am very proud I did so. I believe I have been proved right on the issue again. As the Minister will be in the Chamber, the Leader should agree to set aside one hour to discuss the debacle in Irish Water. I concur with the comments of my party leader that the Minister has been involved with far too many debacles and should resign his post, as it is quite obvious he is not up for the job.