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

How politics works now is that we now have Irish Water. It is planning to spend €1.9 billion on wastewater projects in the next five years. About €10 billion has been spent over the last two decades on water infrastructure generally and we need to continue to spend heavily so that villages, such as those mentioned, can grow and expand if that is appropriate from a planning and zoning perspective. We need to work with and talk to Irish Water regarding how it prioritises expenditure to ensure we are facilitating the right types of developments in the rights parts of the country where there is housing demand. That conversation is ongoing between the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, his Department and Irish Water to ensure we can deliver on the capital plans needed in Ireland. Those plans have to be consistent with the national planning framework and Project Ireland 2040.

We will have to accommodate between 1 million and 1.5 million more people in the Republic of Ireland in the next two decades. That requires the building of many houses, as well as other infrastructure. Irish Water needs to be part of those discussions in Kerry as well as other parts of the country, and it will be. Irish Water is already undertaking a significant capital investment programme. It will be possible for it to do that in a more efficient way than it was done in the past through local authorities because of economies of scale. That is how these decisions are made now. If Deputy Danny Healy-Rae wants to send me individual requests, we can try to revert to him with answers from Irish Water.

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