Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party) | Oireachtas source

I have sat in this Chamber for almost the last two hours listening to this debate. I thought what was happening in Cork city and in my constituency was an isolated incident, but I am sharing the same concerns as people from County Wexford and all over the country who have the same concerns and problems I am incurring every day. First, we have to admit that Irish Water is not fit for purpose. It is not a people-driven organisation. It is answerable to no one. It has become almost like a company operating outside the State, not answerable to the Minister or to anybody. People ring the Oireachtas line for Irish Water and they are given a logging number. That line operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Then, they are sent to the ordinary telephone line, but they are actually speaking to the same person. I will give the Minister of State a very good example of what happened in my constituency, which I raised in the House not so long ago.

For five days, the people of Ballyvolane in Cork city were left without water. They were given code number after code number and reference number after reference number. Not one tanker came up to help the people of the north side in Ballyvolane. Not one bottle of water was delivered. There were children without water and people without showers and those who could not put on their washing machines or wash, cook, etc. That is unacceptable in this day and age. I would like to tell the Minister of State that this is an isolated incident, but on the north side of the city, we have been told by Irish Water that we need a Government investment of half a billion euro to stop the Guinness-like water coming out of people's taps. That is what it told us. Then, when we asked the question about how long it will take if we get Irish Water the half a billion euro from the Minister and the Minister commits to the project, we were told 90 years at the current pace.

It would take 90 years to correct Victorian water pipes on the north side of the city.

A little bit outside the city in my constituency is Carrignavar where there is no water connection. A ghost estate that has been there since 2008 cannot be connected because Irish Water will not connect it. My own home parish, where my mother and father live, is Blarney. Cork City Council in its most recent development plan had to reduce, rezone and dezone lands because Irish Water came along and said it was calling the shots and nothing will be built in Blarney for the next ten or 15 years because it will not put in a pumping station. "Tough on ye, lads" we were told. I do not know how we are going to solve the housing problem if we cannot build a house.

I have been living in Mallow for the past 20 years. My colleagues in the Labour Party spoke earlier about Mallow and its hard water. That has been going on for years. We do not have a grant or any system in place. Everyone in my estate, including me, has had to purchase water softening products, pumps and other things that go under the sink. It costs, on average, €1,500. Mallow is a working class town. We are not all millionaires. It is an extra charge that we could do without.

Let us consider the situation for people who are buying new houses. Builders and developers will tell you that the connection charge is, on average, €6,000 to €7,000 for a three-bedroom semi-detached house. Whether we like it or not, people are paying water charges by paying that serious connection charge. I dealt with a man in Blackpool who was restoring a house that had not been used for 25 years. Irish Water rang him and said it would supply the water connection at a cost of €3,500. The house was less than half a metre from the connection point. It is unbelievable and impossible to justify that sort of connection fee for a property.

On the north side of the city, it has been going on for four years. It is unacceptable. I am delighted that the Labour Party has gone into reverse gear. Labour was the party that introduced water charges on the first day and stood over them. I say "Well done" to the Labour Party for finally going into reverse gear and accepting that it is responsible for the monster that is Irish Water.

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