PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)

I will be very quick, as I am being called to a vote in the Seanad. I listened to the answer given to my colleague, Senator Rabbitte, about the technical infrastructure task force. That answers a lot of the questions I had.

In terms of the number of unserviced villages in south Galway, the southern half of County Galway is particularly poorly serviced when it comes to wastewater infrastructure. It is geographically a very large area with not many large towns. It is mostly rural housing in the hinterlands of small villages. One-off rural housing is becoming a thing of the past. People want to live in their home parishes. The only way there is a future for people to live in their home parishes in rural Galway is if we find a way of building in the villages.

All of our villages are currently closed to development due to the lack of wastewater infrastructure. Therefore, the 22-to-30-year-old young couple from anywhere in south-east Galway are forced to leave their local area to find a place to live. The only solution to that in the short and medium term is to facilitate package treatment plants within our villages. It is urgently needed. We are losing our young people due to the lack of housing and wastewater infrastructure.

There are 14 settlements in my area and only one has capacity, that being, Kinvarra. That is an area the size of County Louth. Can the witnesses imagine if building could only take place in one village in County Louth? That is our reality in south Galway. Until we get a solution, our area is dying on its feet. I will leave them with that.