Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)

I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and wish him well in future. I also thank him for responding to the matter I raise, namely, a request to commence and complete at an early date the Fethard regional water supply scheme in south Tipperary. People in the area, whose main settlements are Fethard, Strangan, Mullinahone, Killenaule and their hinterlands, have suffered for years owing to poor, limited and frequently interrupted water supply.

Water is a basic need in the 21st century but water supply to the area in question is interrupted regularly. Not a week passes without a break being identified and supply interrupted to families and businesses in the area. The mains are old and can be compared to strainers. At this point, repairs to the mains are a waste of time and public money. Even on the completion of repairs, it can take up to two days for supply to be reconnected to the entire area.

A number of schemes are awaiting commencement and completion. These are a scheme to construct a treatment plant, a further scheme for a mains replacement and a more short-term, interim scheme to provide a new bore hole for the area. I am aware that significant work has been done on this matter by officials of South Tipperary County Council and the Department and detailed communications between the council and Department are ongoing.

I ask the Minister to fast-track the schemes in question. The Department is awaiting tender documents from South Tipperary County Council which are almost ready and will shortly be submitted to the Department. I ask that the process be fast-tracked as soon as the documents are received. People in the area have been suffering as a result of an inadequate water supply for years. As I indicated, it is interrupted weekly and, in some cases, daily.

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