Mr. Terence Coskeran:

In reply to Deputy Buckley's question, the wastewater treatment plant is a submersible pump. It needs to be pumped out every year. It also needs to be serviced every year at a cost to the residents. When the other four residents bought their houses, they did so on the understanding that when all works were done, the management fees would go and they could live their lives. When the property tax was introduced, that was an additional cost for those people. It is so frustrating that we never get anywhere.

To my way of thinking, right is always right and wrong is always wrong. However, in this case right for me is right but wrong for the other side does not appear to be wrong. If I have an agreement with anyone, I will abide by it. How can the council just shuffle it around and send me from pillar to post and then when I get to it again, send me around on another trip? It is so frustrating. I am now in my 69th year. I had problems when I left Ireland initially in 1962.

I come back in all good faith and now I am here at the end of it. I am thinking to myself, my God, has it changed for me? I was doing everything and now I am here in the last few years of my life and this thing will not even give me peace in death because it passes on. This how frustrating it is. It is fine for council officials to go home and they will leave their office on Friday night. I am there on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Council officials will leave their roles in the council and they will go some place else. They will go off and retire but I do not have that luxury. This is with me. This is like a noose around my neck that will not go away. Why is this the case? It is because somebody who has an agreement will not honour it and they keep using other excuses.

Like I said, Irish Water came in ten years after I had the agreement. How can they do this to a normal person, to an ordinary Joe Soap who has gone around and done his best for his life on this earth, of which there is not much left? It is the last few years to be battling and arguing and shouting and going from pillar to post.

Finally, like I said earlier in my finishing up, I thank this committee for being afforded this opportunity to vent my frustration today. I do not want anybody to go jail or to be hanged or anything like that over this. All I want is fair play and for somebody else to take charge of their responsibilities and not to keep telling me about mine. I have done mine. Why do they keep telling me about my responsibilities? I have a stack of letters here that I could show to members that are telling me about my responsibility. God knows, responsibility is a two-way street in my street. If someone does something, the other person has to live up to their end.