Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that he is only the messenger in this case and we will not shoot the messenger but that response is absolutely not good enough. It is not acceptable that people will have to wait for the 2025 to 2029 funding cycle, and I will not accept it. I cannot go back to the people of Dunmanway and tell them they have to wait that long. The process of upgrading the Dunmanway wastewater treatment system so that houses can once again be built has to start straight away. It has to start this year in 2024 with the design, the tendering process and the appointment of the contractor. It has to go through all of that and must start straightaway. As I said, I do not care where the money is found. There is a massive capital plan in place with a budget of billions. The funding has to be found from somewhere. The response is not good enough and I will be raising this issue again.

Uisce Éireann has much to answer for throughout west Cork. I was at a public meeting in Kinsale yesterday. Residents of Abbey Fort and Kinsale Manor estate have had to put up with six water breaks since November. We must bear in mind that the community hospital is at the end of that water line. Uisce Éireann has indicated it has no authority and it will upgrade the system but I want to know what will happen in the interim. Uisce Éireann must have an interim plan should breaks arise and must supply tankers of water. I appreciate that this issue was not raised in the Topical Issue matter but I have to raise it. It is an example of what is happening across the board.

Furthermore, I am informed there will be no more planning granted on the Beara Peninsula, again because of water supply issues. There is an urgent need to upgrade the water supply scheme on the Beara Peninsula so we can see houses being built again. One of the most scandalous of them is Shannonvale village near my home town of Clonakilty. It has a children's playground with raw sewage coming up through the surface. It has been closed for years and Uisce Éireann has failed to install an adequate wastewater treatment plant there. The issues are right across the board. Uisce Éireann needs to be held to account.

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