Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. In the meantime, while people are waiting for all this to happen, I ask the Minister to provide funding to the council, or whoever he wants, to get water to people in my county. It is unsustainable for people who are already put to the pin of their collar to have to spend €500 to €600 a year on water. The Minister might think that is excessive but when one has four- and five-year old children having to pour bottled water on toothbrushes before they use them, the water goes quickly, no matter what regime one puts in place. The idea that one has to put a regime in place in the first case, that one has to stand over one's children to ensure they do not poison themselves with what is coming out of the tap, is a major problem.

I appreciate the Minister cannot solve everything overnight and he is trying to do something but as things stand, we cannot drink the water. We pay for it through general taxation and we deserve something for what we pay. Mr. Jerry Grant, from Irish Water, said at a conference in Athlone he would guarantee that by the end of this year there would be no boil notice anywhere in County Roscommon.

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