James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What were known as group water schemes were a godsend in the 1950s and 1960s when they were put in place by many local volunteers. Many of the trustees have passed on and we are now left with a situation where there is no ownership of these schemes. Many of them need serious upgrading and local authorities will not touch them until they are upgraded. There are insufficient funds to upgrade them. Furthermore, local authorities are fearful about touching them where there is evidence that the supply might be provided from a deep well bore. By today's standards, they are in very poor condition and in the case of many of them, a handyman might come and fix a leak. They would not comply with present day regulations in respect of water quality. What plans does the Department have to upgrade them? They will be a problem encountered by Irish Water.