Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to be able to propose and speak on this motion as part of the Regional Group. I concur with everything my colleagues have said on the floor.

We all know the importance of top-quality water infrastructure. Unfortunately, much of our water infrastructure needs upgrading. This presents us with an opportunity to plan carefully; to fast-track infrastructural development in our towns and villages to create balanced development; to create a strategic plan for water investment and to put in place a transparent cost structure for new, and extensions to existing, water and waste water treatment infrastructure. To put it in one sentence, it is an opportunity to get it right. We need to take this opportunity because we cannot allow any town or village to be in a position where there is inadequate water infrastructure to support development. We have a housing crisis, which means we need to build houses. We cannot have leave ourselves in a position where housing or business developments could be rejected because of a lack of water infrastructure. That would amount to State-sponsored negligence.

Business development will be key to a post-Covid recovery and building houses will be key to solving the housing crisis. We need to ensure that we have the infrastructure in place to do both in all parts of Ireland. Many businesses of certain kinds will have seen benefits to working from home. There has been less unproductive time sitting in traffic or on a long commute, more time with the family and the ability to work in a comfortable environment. Of course, it is not for everyone or every business but it is likely that we shall see working from home or working from community hubs become more commonplace. All of these things need water infrastructure.

It is not just about throwing money hand over fist at the problem either. It is about a sensible, workable strategy. We currently have a lack of joined-up thinking when it comes to the upgrading of water services. I will give an example from my home area. A €13 million waste water treatment facility is being developed in Arthurstown, County Wexford, to service the Arthurstown, Duncannon and Ballyhack areas. This is, of course, badly needed and very welcome. However, the lack of joined-up thinking is shown by an exchange that took place in 2019 between Wexford County Council's director of services, Mr. Eamonn Hore, and the head of asset management in Irish Water.

Mr. Hore wrote to ask Irish Water to investigate the connection of the village of Ramsgrange to the new water treatment plant at Arthurstown. He wrote that most of Ramsgrange village was, at that time, served by poorly operated private discharge plants that discharge into the stream that runs through the village and into Duncannon beach, about 3 km away. For those Members who are not familiar with Ramsgrange, rather unusually for a rural village, it has a secondary school of almost 600 pupils, a national school, a pub, a supermarket and a variety of houses. The village is only 3 km away from the new €13 million facility where Wexford County Council has identified not only bad water infrastructure, but also obvious environmental issues. The lack of a strategic plan or joined-up thinking means that Ramsgrange will not be included in this new scheme, even though it is in need of it. It should be included in the scheme, as a practical measure, because it will be cheaper to do so now.

This is just one example that I happen to be familiar with, as it is almost on my doorstep, but there are similar anomalies right across the country. We cannot continue to deal with our water on a patchwork quilt-type basis which is why I, as part of the Regional Group, am calling on Deputies on all sides of the House to support this motion. Let us have a strategic plan, ensure we protect our environment and create the conditions to allow rural Ireland to recover and thrive.

Our local beach, Duncannon, has, unfortunately, lost its blue flag, which is pertinent to the situation I have just described. I ask the Minister to consider the fact that the loss of that blue flag will have an impact on tourism in the south County Wexford area. The measures we have proposed must be taken seriously and put into practice as soon as possible.

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