Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have certain points to put to the Minister and I ask him to reply within the four minutes I have in order that my colleagues can make their contributions. I wish to again bring to his attention the issue of rural villages without sewers. I know he has been very engaged on this issue as Minister. There are several such villages in County Clare. It is a real inhibitor of rural life. It is a standout issue in the village of Broadford, which is in my neck of the woods, just a few miles from my house. The village cannot grow. It has the same infrastructure it had in the 19th century. In some places, when one flushes a toilet, it goes out into a gravel soak pit out the back. There are no sewers or even septic tanks for some homes. It is archaic infrastructure. I know the Department is looking at ways of addressing the issue. I would like to hear more in that regard.

I grew up in Ballycannon, Meelick. A housing estate was built in the village in the 1970s.

The residents were told that the sewerage infrastructure was temporary and that they would be connected to the mains in a matter of years, but nothing happened in the decades that followed. We now have some positive news, that is, Irish Water has told us that it is undertaking design works this spring to decommission the existing infrastructure and connect those houses to the main Limerick drainage system, but that construction might not be complete until the second quarter of 2023. They cannot wait that long. The smells are a knock-out. It is nauseating; you would be sick if you went there. I am asking the Minister to look at advancing that.

I also wish to bring the construction sector to the attention of the Minister. We are at the height of level 5 restrictions, dealing with peak Covid-19 and an emergency in our country, but we have seen the construction of local authority housing continue, which was a good decision on the Minister's behalf. There are people around the countryside asking about houses that are semi-complete. I get the points that the Minister has been making quite vociferously in the media about this, but can we get any further clarity on the issue?

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