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

I know some of the towns and villages mentioned by the Deputy well, in particular Caherdaniel. It is one of the most beautiful parts of this island. Irish Water has to prioritise how and where it spends funds. Sometimes that means investing in upgrading existing facilities and at other times it will mean the construction of a brand new treatment plant. It has to prioritise those areas with pressures for developments. It will spend close to €2 billion in the next four or five years on wastewater treatment facilities. That is a significant amount of money and I expect there will be significant expenditure in County Kerry. Money will also be spent in other parts of the country. I could name many rural villages that need new wastewater treatment facilities.

Unfortunately, we did not see investment by local authorities when they were in charge of water systems. That was because they did not have money in many cases. We now have a different system of delivery which is more efficient and makes more sense. It is going to take time to address much of the infrastructure that is not fit for purpose. There have been many good examples of investment by Irish Water that has been effective and has facilitated significant development. There must be an ongoing discussion between Irish Water and the Department so we have consistency between the national planning framework and water investment.

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