Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)

The Minister of State and I sat on the housing committee together. It is like déjà vu. I am delighted to be the chairman of the budget and oversight committee, which will have a big role to play in ensuring accountability in respect of the money that is being spent.

I sent a letter to Uisce Éireann about Pallaskenry, County Limerick. Three weeks on, I am waiting for a letter back to say there is capacity in Pallaskenry. I know there is capacity because nothing has been built there since the new plant went in, but I was told that it is going to take another two weeks to check whether there is capacity in the tank and system that are there. We already know it is there. That is two weeks to use a computer in order to check for capacity. That is where we are lacking accountability. I have been self-employed all my life. Imagine if I told somebody they would have to wait two weeks to check capacity of something that could be done at the click of a finger. We need accountability in respect of Uisce Éireann and the funding put into it and the lack of funding put into local authorities when they were in charge of water under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. They could have delivered a lot of the stuff we need today in terms of infrastructure.

Askeaton has been 49 years without a sewerage system. Raw sewage is flowing into the Shannon, water from which the Government wants to pipe up here to Dublin to service the city's water needs. That is what we are looking at. Raw sewage is going into the Shannon and the Government wants to treat the water from the river and use it to service Dublin's needs. Some 73% of what Uisce Éireann is now treating is water; the rest is sewage because they are both mixed. I have been at this for six or seven years, namely trying to bring about common sense and value for money when it comes to infrastructure. People in high-paid jobs are making decisions but we are getting nothing in return. Let us build the infrastructure we need and get accountability for the money invested in it.

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