Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am back again to raise the issue of Kilcummin and to ask the Minister to reconsider the request to waive the connection fee to connect residents to the new Kilcummin sewerage scheme, which is currently under construction. I ask this in light of the positive decision a couple of weeks ago by the Government to waive levies and fees in certain instances.

I want this scheme for the people of Kilcummin to be included and the levies and fees waived. It is the first scheme I know about that Irish Water is carrying out in Kerry. Heretofore, Kerry County Council always waived the connection fee. It put the pipe up to the boundary fence, wall, wire or whatever and people could connect to it. Even after that, there is considerable cost to bring the connection to the house.

The purpose of the scheme is to protect the lakes of Killarney. Many councillors, including me when I was a councillor, have been fighting this case for more than 20 years. The scheme is now being done in some way. The whole place is uprooted and residents have gone mad. There have been residents' meetings because the traffic up there is unbelievable. They cannot come down the main road they used to use. Instead, they are using back roads. There are lorries going off roads into dykes and cars are being broken. The whole place is a mess. Irish Water is saying the residents can pay €3,900 at a later stage but that is out the window if the depth is more than 2 m or 3 m. Many of the areas on the road in question are between 5 m and 7 m down. The cost will increase way more once the depth is more than 2.5 m or whatever. Irish Water can charge whatever it likes. That means many of these people will never be able to connect to the scheme. There are between 50 and 70 houses affected. This is vital.

I raised the issue with the Taoiseach and he told me he would speak to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. When I raised it with the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, who is present, he said he would speak to the Minister and the Taoiseach. The Government is forgoing the levies in other instances and that is great - I am delighted about it - but these people should be entitled to the same. At present, many of them do not have the €3,900 needed. When the ground is open, very little work is needed to bring the pipe up to the fence.

Another issue is that once you go down 5 m or 7 m, there is a fierce problem, which is that the ground keeps falling in because it is gravel. The Killarney and Kilcummin areas are all gravel and it is falling in. Many people are asking why the pipe is not being drilled underground as is done in other places. If that had been done in Kilcummin, there would be far less trouble for the residents. I am told Kilcummin is the biggest parish in Ireland. It is one of the biggest parishes anyway. There are a serious number of people travelling to schools or nursing homes. It is close to Killarney town. The way this is being done is ridiculous. There is a lot of hullabaloo and work is going on but no one is connecting to the sewer. We are trying protect the lakes of Killarney.

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