Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)
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It was said earlier that when the recession hit in 2008, other countries continued to develop infrastructure but we pulled back in various sectors, whereas we should have continued to provide infrastructure. Hindsight is a great thing. We are where we are now and we are moving forward.

Reports are coming from the likes of Uisce Éireann that many towns and villages around Ireland have reached maximum capacity and there is no more room. We are only taking their word for it. I am involved in construction all my life. I have done a lot recently with sewerage infrastructure to see how we can make those towns and villages viable now and provide more capacity without a massive investment. What Uisce Éireann has told the Department is that it is at capacity and that we need a new system. It says we need to spend €3 million. What it actually should be saying is that we need more capacity, which means bigger tanks to slow down the cycles. We could use the same system by building bigger tanks on site at a low cost until we can put in newer systems in five or ten years. We need to basically slow down the cycle.

I have been dealing with the EPA on various matters relating to this issue. The Government is listening to the experts from the likes of Uisce Éireann, but they want to get as much money out of the Government as they can to cover the big projects it has. It is not looking at the smaller projects at the moment where it could increase the capacity of its own systems by adding larger tanks. It could be done very quickly, with a small investment in areas where the capacity in a town or village has reached the maximum. Increasing the size of the tanks would slow down the cycle, which would mean, with a small investment, we could build more houses in those areas using the existing system.

Why does the Government not get a second opinion from the private sector to counter Uisce Éireann's views and say we could fix this at a small cost to the Government and get more houses at a lower cost until the cycle turns and we can get to those places? In the interim, if we leave the systems as they are, they are polluting the waterways in this country. According to the EPA's standards, there is pollution, including in the farming sector, but the biggest polluters in this country at the moment are local authorities. That has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.

If we look at the science and the experience from the private sector they can help, first, to prevent pollution and, second, to increase the amount of housing in areas. If we increase housing in certain areas with a small spend, we can then put a transport network in place and further develop the areas. The Government can then fix one problem at a time down the line when it is in a position to do so. Common sense is not that common.