Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Canney for raising an important issue in the development of our country, planning forward. I have some broad points to make with regard to the funding of Irish Water. There was agreement in the last Dáil at an Oireachtas committee about the approach that would be taken. I believe there was and still is cross-party and independent support for that approach, so I do not see it changing. It will involve the introduction of water charges where the excessive wasteful use of water is clear and evident. That will provide certain funding but more importantly it will provide a signal to avoid wasteful use of a precious resource.

The broad economic approach of this Government will have to involve managing ourselves out of an economic difficulty through investment. We will not contract our way out of this economic downturn. Investment in capital infrastructure has to be our guiding star. At a time of low interest rates, when our infrastructure is holding back development in a variety of ways in water, public transport and housing, that is the critical investment we need to do, which will create jobs and avoid some economic mistakes of the previous period. This Government is and will be committed to expanding or investing in capital projects, especially those which, as the Deputy says, have co-benefits in that they allow other developments to take place.

When it comes to water investment, it is interesting that the Deputy takes Galway as an example because Galway has historically suffered more than many other counties due to lack of investment in wastewater treatment as well as water supplies. The wastewater treatment, which is often less visible or seen as less of a priority, is where particular problems have occurred in Galway. I support and agree with the Deputy's case for investment in that type of infrastructure in places such as the Ardaun corridor and Athenry. If we can combine that development with improving and upgrading the rail system there, that would the sort of co-ordinated, planned and sustainable development we seek to achieve.

It is vital in that regard that we heed the advice of the national planning framework and look for concentrated development. The authorities are right to say we should move away from the use of septic tanks, because that has brought significant difficulty to managing water quality and the problems that brings for our rivers and water systems elsewhere. By concentrating development around infrastructure spending and existing towns and villages and new developments close to public transport and infrastructure development, that is where success will lie. In any dealings with the Government, I will absolutely look to see how we can prioritise capital investment in Irish Water and in projects such as the ones the Deputy cited because they provide the sort of sustainable development we need.

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