Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We need to increase the investment in water infrastructure. I am glad, therefore, that the Deputy focused on what is needed and not on the argument he has been making for years, which is that we should have stuck with the old system of local authorities doing it all alone. I hope that even Deputy Boyd Barrett sees the logic of moving to a single utility which can deal with the economies of scale and develop the skill sets that come from that and plan nationally for how we move water around this island to ensure we do not have the kind of water shortages with which we are threatened.

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