Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State; that is very much appreciated. When I raised this with the Tánaiste, the question I asked was whether we needed to invest more money in wastewater systems. I was amazed when he answered that this year there was an underspend of €100 million. I will give the Minister of State an invitation. If he had €100 million to spend in any county in Ireland, he is more than welcome to come to Waterford to spend it, where it would be well spent throughout the county. There are solutions available. The short-term solution in Bunmahon would be to seal the pipes and to pump out more often so that it is desludged annually.

As the Minister of State will know, only two valleys beyond Bunmahon is the Anne Valley where there is an integrated wetland solution. Wastewater has been dealt with there and there was been an enormous biodiversity co-benefit. Following that, there has been a significant amenity co-benefit because the entirety of the Anne Valley can now be walked. On top of that, there has been an economic benefit because people are walking on what is essentially a septic tank, enjoying it and having a cup of coffee on the way. I invite the Minister of State to walk that area with me and look at it as a possible solution for the Bunmahon area where it would suit just as well. The topography is there. The landowners would be more likely to buy in because they would see the positive example just one village over. It would give the community the signal it needs, because even if it were to be announced in the next capital plan, they could probably live with that if a short-term solution was put in place. Let them do the preparation work which would mean that they could hit the ground running in 2025 and make sure they could provide for their wastewater needs into the future as the village grows.

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