PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)

Given that answer and the progress since the establishment of Uisce Éireann or Irish Water, I can only assume that if the unserviced villages I mentioned are to apply through the process suggested and wait to be selected and serviced, the young people waiting on houses will be talking to their grandchildren about the possibility of living in these villages. The housing crisis is now. We need an alternative means of developing wastewater services.

My colleagues mentioned developer-led processes. That has to be the solution for small, unserviced settlements. I liked what I heard the witnesses say earlier about Uisce Éireann developing the specification for these. This system has to be expedited. We have to get to a position very soon whereby Galway County Council and other local authorities can grant planning permission to developers for housing developments in unserviced settlements with onsite package plants specified by Uisce Éireann and then taken in charge. We need to get there as soon as possible. I am anxious to know the timeline for that.