Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue on behalf of my constituents in Longford-Westmeath. One thing that is very clear is that the approach to water policy in this country needs a drastic realignment.

As well as the communication and engagement issues that have been spoken about, the very basics need to be got right. Today, in Westmeath, there is an 81-year-old man who lives alone in a rural area and has never had a water supply. I have dealt with a hospitality business in Longford whose supply is so bad that it purchases and transports approximately 30,000 cu. m of drinking water every three to five weeks, which is mind-boggling in 2020. A handball alley in my constituency received a bill for almost €6,000 despite being closed for the vast majority of two years over the pandemic. The resolution was absolutely soul-destroying for the volunteers running the club in question. For the third time this week, a school in Kilbeggan has been closed because of the lack of a water supply. No number of self-congratulating emails announcing the return of a supply will ease the stress of the students, parents or staff of the school.

The practices that have led to those situations need to be resolved because the public will not have faith in any water service until they are. That same public needs to be given assurances that the priorities of whatever entity ultimately ends up in charge of our water supply will be focused on improving water quality and wastewater treatment and fixing leaks and not, as the public has rightly feared over recent years, solely on profits, as happens in other jurisdictions. I shudder to think of the families who would have found themselves not only in energy poverty but also water poverty if it were not for the very successful water campaign a number of years ago. The Government parties need to set a date for the referendum on public ownership of water sooner rather than later. I fully support the trade union campaign to name a date to resolve this issue permanently.

See this speech in context