Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

I want to clarify what the Minister meant and I understand he must release the money. However, my statement was true. We can argue why it is true or what the situation should be, but is the fact that Galway City Council has the lowest local authority staffing level per capita not an alarm bell? Perhaps it is not related to the water problem. In light of developments in Galway, this issue must be addressed to avoid another problem that must be dealt with in a fire brigade approach.

Given the Minister has focused on where he believes the fault to be, namely, in the west rather than the east in the Custom House and that we are in the twilight of this Dáil, does the Water Services Bill 2003 not need to be enacted quickly? It would provide an inspectorate with greater power, provide for the regulation of water group schemes and prevent a recurrence of what we are witnessing. In as much as the Minister can promise to implement the Bill, given that it should already be enacted, he should take the idea with him to Galway.

Does the Minister accept that a message must go to some of his colleagues on the council who have been quick to develop the built environment in the Galway area at a rate of knots? Water capacity in Galway is at 100%. Tomorrow, will the Minister give his colleagues the message that if we are to prevent further strain on the overstrained system, we must upgrade the water supply before more development takes place?

We all want to be constructive about this. On the eve of an election, it is tempting to start kicking political footballs around and I hope the Minister will resist that temptation, as I will try to resist it due to the limited time available. My colleague, Galway's mayor, Niall Ó Brolcháin, has tabled a five-point plan on the priority of providing fresh water through filters, finding the human source — Oughterard and Claregalway are still discharging raw sewage into Lough Corrib — a temporary engineering solution in terms of ozone treatment, putting in place a modern regional treatment plant and consolidating the agencies. The Minister mentioned three agencies, but I understand we are dealing with approximately nine agencies, such as the fisheries boards, the EPA, the Department, the HSE and the local authorities. Perhaps tomorrow's visit will provide a consolidated framework through which to address water quality needs.

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