Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

I echo the sentiments expressed by my colleague, Deputy Gormley, and Deputy Higgins of the Labour Party. I share their concern about the condition of Ireland's water supply. I refer not only to Galway city and county, but also to counties Limerick, Clare and Wicklow. Water has had to be brought in tankers to certain parts of the latter county, which is the Minister's backyard and is supposed to be the garden of Ireland.

It is incredible that the European Commission has seen fit to drag Ireland to the European Court of Justice to ensure it complies with EU directives on safe water supplies. It is incredible that the Minister, Deputy Roche, who prides himself on being a European, is allowing himself, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Government and, by association, the people of Ireland to be dragged into the courts of Europe to ensure that this country complies with the regulations which have been laid down by the EU. The Minister needs to send out a clear signal that Ireland will comply with the nitrates directive and ensure that farmers play their part in ensuring that groundwater is not contaminated. Local authorities should be regulated on an annual basis to ensure they do not pour effluent into estuarine waters, such as Clew Bay, and thereby endanger the livelihoods of those involved in the shellfish industry.

We need a Minister who will make forestry regulations to ensure that forests are not planted just 2 m from the shores of Lough Corrib. The Corrib fishermen and others have recommended that all planting should be 15 m or more from the lake. We need a Minister who will put protections in place, rather than bowing to every interest group in this sector. We need a Minister who believes in land use planning, rather than tolerates the laissez-faire "whatever you are having yourself" system that has been operating for years in counties Galway, Limerick and Clare and elsewhere. We need a Minister who believes in planning, and in the principle of planning, so that our water supply can be protected. We need a Minister who will rise to the dignity of his office, rather than belittle that office in an unbecoming manner by throwing cheap shots at the Lord Mayor of Galway. I would have thought that the Minister has a clear understanding of the role of local government. I refer to matters like designated and reserved functions, for example. I wish we had a Minister who could deal with such issues. It was unbecoming of his office for the Minister, Deputy Roche, to take such a cheap shot at the Lord Mayor of Galway.

The lack of regulation of septic tanks in this country constitutes a timebomb that is ticking and waiting to explode. We need to put in place regulations which provide for the inspection of septic tanks. Such tanks are being installed in the north, south, east and west of this country in the absence of an adequate system of ensuring they do not pollute the groundwater. In certain areas, such as those with karst landscapes, it is very easy for discharges from septic tanks to go straight down into our rivers and streams. We need to ensure that a system of regular inspection of septic tanks is put in place.

Legislation that updates the guidelines covering the protection and extraction of water is needed. As the Minister pointed out, some of the statutes being repealed in this legislation date back to the 1860s and 1870s. It is time for this Bill, which has sat on the Minister's desk for three years, to be passed. It is hard to explain such a delay, but I suspect it results from a lack of bottle on the part of the Minister. It is time for this draft legislation to become law. If nothing else, it will stop livestock from drinking from the water that is about to be extracted for human consumption. It should be simple to erect barbed wire fences to keep livestock away from reservoirs, or to provide for a system of regulation and testing that belongs to the 21st century, rather than the 19th century. If the legislation does nothing other than that, it is long overdue. We need to ensure, in the interests of the hundreds of people in Galway who are ill and the tens of thousands of people throughout this country who are experiencing difficulties in acquiring a water supply, that this legislation becomes law and drags our water supply system into the 21st century as soon as possible.

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