Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me the opportunity to raise this particularly important issue. I also thank the Minister for coming into the House to reply. The Ceann Comhairle correctly identified the scheme as the Balyna scheme, which is an offshoot of the famous Allen-Killina group water scheme of many years ago, which was vintage in the 1970s. It had many stages and extensions in the interim period, especially when the Department was directly responsible for administering the schemes.

Unfortunately, in recent years there seems to have been a distraction of one sort or another and the issue affects an area composed of approximately 1,000 families and there are a couple of schools involved as well as the local community. I will not go into the usual mode of criticising the neglect of rural areas. Those people are citizens of this country and of County Kildare. They deserve equal treatment with people anywhere else in the country. A wellfield was developed in recent years but for some reason the local authority did not proceed with it. I suspect that was for several reasons.

I will describe how the aquifer in the area is operating. In recent years the water has been flowing out over the top of an artesian borehole into a nearby stream. At that stage it is free water coming out of the ground and it should have been possible to harness it. First, there was going to be no refund but in the heel of the hunt there was an intervention and the subscribers have had 80% of their funding refunded. However, that is not what they applied for in the first instance. They applied for a group water scheme and the supply of water to their scheme. It is more than 25 years since they first subscribed their money to the scheme. Needless to say, I was very disappointed that the scheme was deemed to go no further, in particular given that a number of households in the catchment area have no supply of drinking water. Their water supply is contaminated with what we call rust, namely iron deposits, and it also has heavy lime deposits which is damaging to washing machines and all kinds of modern kitchen appliances. Sadly, the views and requirements of those people have been neglected without any reason being given. What is worse, in the summer of 2018 the water supply of a school in the area was deemed to be unsafe and measures had to be put in place to ensure a water supply would continue to be provided.

I know the Ceann Comhairle would agree with me if he was sitting where I am now. There is no reason for the scheme not to be re-invented, resubscribed as necessary and for provision to be made for the men, women and children whose families are living in the area, all of whom are taxpayers and are entitled to the same treatment as everybody else. The question is who decided that they are not entitled to this treatment. Is there a reason for the lack of supply or can the water not be supplied economically? It was always thus. There were always people who could not subscribe to a scheme at a particular time. It was left open to them to opt into a scheme at a later time if they wanted to. In the final analysis, insofar as I am concerned, I have never seen a scheme abandoned in that fashion previously and I certainly do not want to see another one even if I live to be 100, which I do not intend to do, as the Ceann Comhairle will be glad to hear.

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