Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government clearly states that the Government will build 300,000 houses over a five-year period. The truth is that Uisce Éireann cannot produce 50,000 connections in a year. If we consider the funding allocation, Uisce Éireann has €10 billion for the next ten years, but €5 billion of that will go into meeting EU regulations and €3 billion will go into the Shannon pipeline. That means that only €2 billion, or 20%, is committed to the roll-out of new connections. In a housing crisis, I am concerned about the funding allocation. This should be prioritised. The targets for housing in the programme for Government should be built in conjunction with what the State utilities can actually provide.

The other point I wish to make relates to the funding of Uisce Éireann. Prior to the establishment of Uisce Éireann in 2014, local authorities had autonomy around projects for wastewater and water treatment plants. That responsibility has now gone over to Uisce Éireann. It is operating and making decisions on the basis of commercial considerations. As a result, we are seeing the prioritisation of town centres and large towns while villages are left behind. That is happening. There is no communication with local authorities, county councillors and so on. Uisce Éireann has become a faceless entity. It is very difficult as a public representative to get answers from Uisce Éireann. Local authorities should have more say over projects. I ask the Minister to engage with Uisce Éireann and develop a plan to allocate a certain budget to local authorities for local councillors to decide. They are on the ground and know the areas that need to be prioritised and where future development is required. None of this local knowledge feeds into Uisce Éireann's plan whatsoever. That is a major difficulty. If we want to strengthen local government and the power of local politicians, we must start by taking power from these faceless entities and giving it back. We must ensure that the people have more say in respect of this issue.

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