Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The proposals the Deputy has made are reasonable and should be given consideration. I refer to the point he raised about the underspend. Obviously, there are capacity issues and issues still to be resolved with Irish Water's structure and its ongoing engagement with local authorities on service level agreements and the work ongoing with the Workplace Relations Commission. That work is progressing well. It will result in Irish Water becoming a fully-fledged public service utility that delivers on the infrastructure and the capital investment, which is unprecedented in the history of the State and which is needed, this Government has committed to. Sustained investment is required in the next decade and beyond to meet the growing population needs and our obligations under river basin management plans and so on. This is an area that is very beautiful but also very pressurised from other sources such as agricultural intensification about which we are currently in public consultation through the river basin management plans. We urge the public to continue to be involved in that process.

I am very familiar with the constructed wetland systems. They offer a solution to which we should give due consideration. For small catchment areas and communities, and even in larger communities, they have proven to work very well. They involve relatively low-cost technology as opposed to large pieces of mechanised infrastructure and, as the Deputy said, they have the added biodiversity benefit. When looking at nature-based solutions for water management, we should consider those types of facilities as well. I would be happy to visit the area in the new year.

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