Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I will leave the following with the Minister of State. He did not come back to me on the opportunity, if any, to speed these things up and move more quickly. To bring that Q4 of 2024 back to mid 2024 or late 2023 would make a significant difference. I made points on the contingency, the response, the supports for vulnerable customers and users and the quality of the communications.

I will situate the frustration for residents of Ratoath in the context of it being an area identified for significant residential development. There is an strategic housing development, SHD, application in for 452 units that is being considered. There is a local information housing activation fund, LIHAF, strip. I will leave that with the Minister of State as well. Significant taxpayers' money was put into a LIHAF road that the units have not been developed on. The road is not open in Ratoath but there is planning there for in excess of 300 units. That is a significant development and there is deep concern. We want to see units developed and we are in the middle of the housing crisis, but there is concern that our infrastructure is not fit at the minute and we face the prospect of units on top of an already creaking infrastructure. It is a sequencing matter and lends to the argument for prioritisation and that the works be expedited for delivery of that water infrastructure to facilitate the residential developments in a timely fashion, so that residents are not added to the list of people frustrated to be left without water.

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