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

I thank the Deputy again for raising this important issue and outlining the significant growth that has taken place in Ratoath. I will follow up with Irish Water on the contingency issue, which can be frustrating for citizens and residents when there is an outage, in terms of the mitigation measures put in place for that period, as well as in terms of communications. It is active on social media but not everyone is on social media and, especially in rural areas, it can be difficult for citizens to have that access. I will raise that with Irish Water.

On fast-tracking projects, we are bound by statutory processes when it comes to planning permission. One is unaware whether there will be objections, etc., as it goes through the finalisation process. Procurement is a significant process nowadays, as well as the fact that when the preferred tenderer is awarded, there has to be a cooling period and it may be challenged. It can be difficult for a Minister to give a commitment to bring projects forward because so many items are out of our control, unfortunately. I will raise the issues with Irish Water.

One of the biggest challenges in this country is our waste water infrastructure. As I travel around the country, I encounter towns and villages that have problems delivering the potential development because the infrastructure is not up to speed. A key factor is that every year as we approach the budget, we are competing for Irish Water with the Departments with responsibility for health, children and transport. All those key issues are now competing and that is difficult for Irish Water. We will do our best and have secured a significant budget, as well as €6 billion in the capital investment programme from 2021 to 2025.

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