Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I am looking forward to the visit to the park. We need to seriously reconsider these issues. I acknowledge and respect the independent role of the EPA but it needs a stronger voice in this House. We should consider the reports it compiles on the contamination of water supplies throughout the country. When representatives of the agency appear before the Joint Committee on Environment and Local Government, they do not receive the legal consideration they deserve. A sea change is taking place on these issues and we must ensure we always act in the interest of public health. When a local authority or the EPA states an opinion, nobody should be in a position to overrule it.

That is especially important in the context of waste water issues. The Minister was given a report in 2004 on the country's waste water treatment plants, many of which were seriously disintegrating, yet the moneys provided by his Department for water and sewerage works have decreased over the past five years. We should be increasing our spending in those areas.

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