Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his answer. I know he does not have direct responsibility for these services and neither does this House. We have a moral responsibility at this stage. While I appreciate the answer the Minister has given, I suggest the information he has been given by officials in the council or his Department under-estimates the seriousness of the issue. Thousands of people in County Wicklow do not have a trickle of water. Some of my constituents have not been able to have a shower in their house for two, three or four weeks. I accept that water has been supplied from tankers. However, mothers and fathers have been told to walk down hills to these tankers to get water for their babies. Cancer patients who are terminally ill are dealing with this issue in their homes.

I understand this is nobody's specific problem. I do not think the requisite degree of urgency is being applied to it, particularly by Dublin City Council which has been extremely evasive in its provision of information for Wicklow County Council. This frustration is shared by many of the staff of Wicklow County Council. The only change in the press releases issued by the council in recent days has been the addition of estates and roads.

I ask the Minister to examine whether there can be any redistribution of the existing water supply. We do not want to deprive the constituents of Deputies in south Dublin like the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, of water. However, there may be additional supplies in parts of south Dublin. Perhaps water pressure might be reduced in some areas to make water available for redistribution in others. That would allow everyone to have some water. It would be a much more humane way of dealing with the problem.

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