Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will respond to both points. In relation to the storm, a committee has already been established on a permanent basis to make sure all Departments and relevant agencies are prepared should something like this happen again. As I have said, the likelihood of that is quite high. What is Uisce Éireann doing? It is purchasing more generators and making sure sites are generator-ready. It will do anything more it needs to do. Separate to that, we need more investment overall. The Government is saying very clearly that we need more investment in wastewater treatment. That will happen. We are saying very clearly with the review of the NDP that we will focus on infrastructure. With the money we are spending through Apple, we will focus on infrastructure with housing being our number one priority. One of the main things that will help to unlock many of the sites on which we want to build is making sure we have that infrastructure and that access to wastewater treatment and also, for the people who are already living in houses in their communities where there are problems, that we upgrade and invest as quickly as possible. That means money but also expanding on Uisce Éireann. There is a very clear commitment to expand the number of people working in Uisce Éireann, as I have mentioned, so that this work can be done as quickly as possible and those concerns can be addressed as quickly as possible.

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