Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her intervention. As a public representative in the area she should be front and centre in providing information and in any ongoing public consultation or advice that residents are looking for. I will raise what the Deputy has mentioned about his letter with the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. It is hard to get my head around it when I am reading it at pace but I will bring it to his attention. I have outlined the three areas around the broader context of Dublin Bay, the bathing water expert group and the local authority-led task force that is assessing target areas. We should be liaising with communities and advising them of any deterioration in water conditions so they can make decisions that best suit them. In the modern era we should be taking advantage of technology to do that and to do so in a transparent manner.

The Government continues to invest in our water infrastructure at a high level. The national development plan commitment of almost €6 billion in capital investment to be undertaken by Irish Water from 2021 to 2025 includes a major upgrade of the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant. The Deputy referenced her area, which is a key and important one. I note that the bathing water directive is undergoing a review and officials from the Department are engaging with the European Commission and attending workshops to discuss the revisions required to the directive. Protecting bathers' health out of season is being considered as part of these discussions but as the Deputy rightly points out, out of season is in season now and that is the reality going forward. It is key for citizens to have that information at their fingertips. We will raise the valid points the Deputy has made. I thank her for bringing this up on behalf of her constituents and she has been raising it consistently over a long number of months. We need action in this regard and I will bring that back to the Department.

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