Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response and acknowledge the efforts being made by Wicklow County Council to address this problem. The Minister of State has referred to local supply issues that are unrelated to the reduction in production but which have impacted negatively on the consumer. That is a contention of Irish Water and one with which the county council would likely disagree. As I understand it, the problem is to do with the pumping system which, if it is interfered with, causes more problems than it solves, including air locks. As the Minister of State noted, Irish Water is considering the provision of interim, temporary plants in the short term. That needs to happen without delay and I ask the Minister of State to communicate very strongly its urgency to the chief executive officer of Irish Water.

I sent an e-mail to Irish Water more than one week ago using the Oireachtas Members' e-mail facility and have yet to receive a response. I wrote to the CEO on Thursday expressing my disappointment at the lack of a response against a background where we had received strong reassurance there would be no such issue. I do not like having to raise the matter here, but I am obliged to do so. It is not acceptable that a query submitted on behalf of a considerable number of people, all of whom will be expected to pay their water charges, should be ignored in this way. I have no problem with the introduction of water charges, but people cannot be expected to pay for water when there is no supply. We need to address this issue now; it is not something that can be left on the long finger. While significant funds will be coming on stream for capital development, an interim measure is necessary to ensure the problem does not recur. As I said, it is a predictable and foreseeable issue and a plan of action must be in place to address it.

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