Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am very disappointed. I spoke to the Minister of State after the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government, of which I am a member, received analysis of the project which suggests that Irish Water's position on the project is rife with basic mathematical errors and misleading statements about its necessity. The document we received from Kennedy Analysis makes for absolutely terrifying reading in terms of the utter waste of hundreds of millions of euro of public money that we do not have. That money could be spent tackling the issues of patients being left on hospital trolleys or waiting for cataract surgery. Ms Emma Kennedy, whom I met last week, has forensically deconstructed Irish Water's estimates for the project and clearly demonstrated that, at the very least, a complete overhaul of the entire project is necessary. I appeal that the Minister not be blind to that. It is taxpayers' money that will be spent, not mine or that of the Minister of State.

As Kennedy Analysis proved, the problem in Dublin in this regard is that its water mains are in a third world state of decay, having been neglected for decades. Some 57% of the water put into the supply system pours through holes and cracks in pipes and goes into the ground, never reaching taps. For there to be 57% leakage is astonishing and far from normal. The Shannon to Dublin pipeline project does nothing to address that, despite its suggested cost of over €1.2 billion. The Kennedy Analysis refers to an OECD study carried out in 2016 to observe leakage levels in cities around the world. Only four cities had leakage levels over 40% and they were all in Mexico. Dublin did not take part in the study. What are we hiding? Are we shamefully afraid to admit to our horrible waste of water? How can this pipeline address this scandal? It will not.

The Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, must call a halt to this project and hold an all-party briefing on the matter to educate Members. On behalf of Liam Minihan, Sarah Kennedy and others, I ask the Minister what will take the cobwebs from his eyes? We are trying to come out of a recession and boost the country.

The Minister of State has stated that land and house owners in the midlands will get water from the pipe. However, they will not be allowed next, nigh nor near the pipe because of the water pressure within it. It is untrue to say that people in that area will be supplied from the pipe. I know, having turned on a tap after a leak, that the pressure will be too much. The Minister should go back to the drawing board, look at reality and not have another con and another tribunal in 20 years' time into this monumental waste of money.

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