Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I live beside the Vartry reservoir. This is the first time in its history it has not filled over the winter. We are now in mid-February and it is still almost empty. The impact of that will not be felt until later on this year; the springs around it are only filling up with the water that is there. There is no doubt there is a need for a new supply for Dublin. This is one of the infrastructural projects that we will look back on in time. It will be talked about like equally critical pieces of infrastructure such as the Vartry reservoir, built in the 1860s, and Poulaphouca reservoir, which flooded a whole village in the 1940s. Public consultation is key to the success of this project. As was said, it is only when a project has a direct impact on somebody that awareness of it is raised. If anything is to be learned from the Vartry project, it is that it was not until there was a direct impact on them that the community raised awareness that two-thirds of the water flow could have been reduced into the Vartry. This is an exciting project. It is a project that the country needs to secure a water supply now and into the future. I am supportive of it, but we must directly consult communities about it.