Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Aontaím leis an Teachta go bhfuil géarghá ann i bhfad níos mó infheistíochta maidir le huisce a dhéanamh sna bailte beaga ar fud na tíre, go háirithe sna háiteanna iargúlta. Níl aon amhras ach go bhfuil easpa infheistíochta sna bailte beaga ag an mbabhta seo agus tá drochthionchar aici sin ar chúrsaí tithíochta agus ar an infheistíocht go ginearálta.

I agree that there is a very significant issue in terms of capacity of Irish Water and in terms of investment, particularly in small towns and villages. If they had the water infrastructure, it would enable small housing schemes to happen much more quickly than has been the case. I have been around the country in places like Cloughjordan where issues similar to those described by the Deputy in Cloughjordan are the norm. The former Minister for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, created the small towns and villages scheme but it has been slow in terms of delivery. I have met with Irish Water once already in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn. I will be meeting it shortly. Ten years ago, only about €300 million was being spent on water infrastructure and that is now at about €1.3 billion as of last year. About €10 billion was allocated from 2025 to 2029 for the Uisce Éireann strategic funding plan. We have made the commitment to increase the level of capital to Irish Water over the next while. However, I am absolutely clear that this has to be tied to new supply to enable housing and infrastructural development around the entire country. We also have to look at the regulatory framework to get a proper balance between compliance, EPA compliance and so on, and new development and new wastewater treatment plants in new areas which would facilitate more housing. Housing is the number one social issue and crisis facing the country. Enabling infrastructure such as water would enable us to get houses built more evenly across the country and in areas where services already exist, contiguous to villages and towns. We could get a lot more done.

We have already approved some big projects, such as the water supply project, for example, which was approved last June and is to deal with the water supply deficit and lack of capacity in the eastern and midlands regions. It will supply water from a hydropower reservoir on the Shannon. That has to happen. It is a huge cost. We have approved it. The greater Dublin drainage project with a cost of €1.2 billion is still with An Bord Pleanála. The Deputy's key point is that parallel with all of that, if any new investment is allocated, it has to go to the small towns and villages across the country.

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