Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Water is a necessity, no matter where in the country one lives. The one point that has been lost in all the debates over the past few months concerns the group water schemes, which suffered a cut of €50 per household when the €100 grant was introduced. We now know the €100 grant is gone and the group water schemes are struggling. I acknowledge there is a commitment to addressing this in the programme for Government but I urge the Minister to do so urgently because the householders will soon be down €50 per house for a year. This is fundamental in keeping the group water schemes going.

Over the past ten to 12 years, many EU regulations have come in on the supply of water and on the bar to which one must rise. Whether we like it or not, be it on the right or left, it is costing more and more to supply water to a house. This is because UV systems and new filter systems must be installed. Regardless of what side of the debate one is on, it would be good for one to go to a sewage or water treatment plant to look at the sophisticated types of machinery now required to deliver safe water to houses. I am chairman of a group water scheme and I am used to the different types of machinery needed.

I have seen boil-water notices operating for ten years in certain areas. We have moved on such that there are now new UV systems. I have a container, like a spare wheel for a car, that one can move from one part of Ireland to another if there is a problem with cryptosporidium. Admittedly, it takes ten or 12 months but it once took eight to ten years. The period can be reduced even further.

The group water schemes have been forgotten in this debate. So, too, have the wells. The Minister is responsible for planning. A point currently emerging from planning authorities is that, in rural areas where people spend between €4,000 and €8,000 to sink a well for a new house, local authorities are stipulating, as a condition of planning permission, that if piped water comes along in two years or five years, for example, those people must connect up to it. This is very unfair on somebody who has spent €4,000, €5,000 or, perhaps, €8,000 to participate in a scheme. This should be addressed ferociously quickly.

Whether people like it or not, when the commission completes its work it will be for politicians or a committee to make a decision. Regardless of what the Dáil decides to do, the one thing we must know is the position on building sewage treatment plants right around this country. In this regard, one should bear in mind that a lake I know that is supposed to be a special area of conservation has raw sewage flowing into it. There are two EPA reports on the lake but the money has not been invested in solving the problem. This is happening right around the country.

Even at present, we are struggling to have water of the quality required because the bar is rising year by year. If we are to have it, be it on the right hand or the left hand, we must put a fair bit of money aside. We must also invest in fixing pipes that are leaking. This needs to be sorted quickly because wasting water is no good to anybody.

I have spoken time and again about rainwater harvesting initiatives to cut down on the supply of treated water. I am a farmer and my cattle drink chlorinated water. They should not. There should be a separate way of harvesting water for such uses and an incentive from the Government to encourage people to move away from treating water that is not for human consumption. One cannot have two pipes side by side so there needs to be an incentive for a separate tank or a system involving the eaves gutter on the house. If there were a PVC tank and a little pump, the water could be collected for toilets, and it could also be used by farmers. We need to think outside the box on this. The Government should provide the incentives. If water is being pumped from a well, electricity costs, chlorine costs, UV costs and other associated costs will reduce. We could be much more economical in our use of treated water because we get plenty of water from the sky that could be collected if we introduced rainwater harvesting initiatives.

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