James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that commitment from the Minister and thank him. I hope the visit can be arranged as soon as possible. The reason I wanted to bring this to the floor of the Dáil is that it has been enormously frustrating trying to get this issue moved on. I have many concerns with the management structure of Irish Water as an entity, how we as parliamentarians and public representatives can have any input into the work it does and how accountable it is to this House and the political system when it comes to inadequacies and failings on its part. I welcome that the Minister and Department will give a particular focus to this area. Above all else, it is about getting houses built, which we need to do. In the east Cork area, which is one of the State's key strategic growth areas when it comes to housing, we need this investment urgently because we can deliver the housing units that are so desperately needed for younger families.

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