Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

The Deputies representing rural constituencies are well aware of this issue, but any Deputies from urban areas who ventured into rural Ireland over the Christmas period or who went back to their ancestral homelands will also be aware that this is a major issue which is causing huge concern to ordinary people in rural Ireland who have not had the benefit of the investment that went into the urban drainage schemes over past decades, at taxpayers expense.

We want clean water and want our underground water resources protected absolutely. However, the level of cost that may be imposed on individuals and families is causing concern. Therefore, I agree that we need certainty. At a minimum, the EPA must outline the standards in advance in order that there is clarity. Then the Government needs to think further about how to ensure equivalence and justice for rural people through the type of public investment equivalent to what was done in the cities in past decades.

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