Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister is here as leader of the Green Party and a Green Party Minister. I just want him to hear what I am actually saying. One of the two main pipes taking sewage through the estuary of the Corrib out to Mutton Island is in imminent danger of collapse.

Can the Minister imagine what that means for the area alone, for health and for housing? Back in 2007, it was recognised that we needed a new siphon or a new pipe; nothing has happened. Back in 2009, it was recognised that we needed a new wastewater treatment plant on the east of the city to allow for the development of the Ardaun corridor and other developments; nothing has happened. Storm water overflows were brought into acute focus when the EPA made a site visit to Oranmore last year. It was inspecting an outflow as a result of an electricity outage, and what did it find? There were 70 recorded incidences not reported to the EPA of sewage going into the water in less than six months. They were discovered as a result of a site visit.

Let us stop the empty rhetoric about development and growing Galway city without the basic infrastructure, let us recognise the problem and let us have some leadership and vision in that regard. The Minister tells me about his goodwill. I appreciate that but I spent 17 years of my life at local authority level and saw the money applied for, recognising the faults that were there, while the Government was busy setting up Irish Water and then not giving it any steer or resources, a hands-off approach-----

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