Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I fully accept the Deputy's observations and this scheme is of particular importance. I have personal experience regarding the effective lack of three-phase electricity and of trying to operate machines off the backs of tractors in single phase and so on. This is a priority scheme and I will go further by referring to the three issues I have stated I wish to address, once the money to accept new applications becomes available. A major overhang of work that was sanctioned last year exists, particularly regarding water and sewerage schemes and so on, that must be paid for this year. However, the first of three priority areas I have identified is the three-phase electricity scheme. At its height it cost approximately €1.5 million per year and grew hugely when we expanded the CLÁR areas. The second priority is the group water scheme top-ups because it involves putting piped water into areas that were totally dependent on wells. No one knew the capacity of each well, many of which used to dry up in the summer and there were other problems. The third priority I wish to consider is the issue of sewerage schemes in very small villages. For example, in Deputy Ring's native County Mayo, villages such as Cross and The Neale made great use of the scheme to install treatment plants on a small network. Once one has done that much, one can add to the network again in the future, if the basic core has been put in place. This allows such small villages to grow. Once the existing applications and approvals have worked their way through the system and we can accept more applications, these will be the priorities I will consider in respect of the scheme.

See this speech in context