Catherine Callaghan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

Carlow-Kilkenny has much to offer in terms of amenities, education and jobs but we have a difficulty with providing houses for the people who would love to live there. Some of the difficulty relates to the provision of water and wastewater treatment plants and road infrastructure. Developer-led infrastructure provision and investing in services is the only way we will move forward. It is imperative that we make provision in this regard. In County Kilkenny, not a single housing development can currently be built in The Rower, Inistioge, Toher, Mullinavat or Graiguenamanagh. This is simply due to the lack of wastewater services.

I balance this by noting that in parts of Tullow and Muine Bheag in County Carlow, great work has been done by Uisce Éireann and Carlow County Council. We have future-proofed capacity for many more houses in both of those towns, which are the second- and third-largest settlements in the county. However, in Carlow town, which is a university town, I am reliably informed it will be quarter 1 of 2031 before wastewater services provide capacity for the houses developers are ready to construct in the town. We also need more student accommodation in Carlow town to help sustain our thriving university.

The programme for Government commits to bringing Uisce Éireann, local authority planners and developers together at the start of a project to ensure the smooth running of the development. However, this provision is for developments of 100 or more homes. In my constituency, it is smaller developments that are struggling the most to get connected. For example, a proposed development in The Rower of approximately seven to ten homes, for which planning permission was given, cannot proceed due to the lack of wastewater capacity. Allowing for developer-led provision would be done under the strict regulation and guidelines of Uisce Éireann. This, in turn, would take the pressure off the system, and off Uisce Éireann, and free up more moves in a quicker timeframe. We must recognise the good work the people in Uisce Éireann are doing locally and give them the support they need to drive on services and infrastructure delivery. Without doubt, further investment is needed in the organisation. That funding must be ring-fenced for use specifically in providing new housing in the future.

We also need more investment in roads to access and unlock potential sites for home building. Snoddy's Road in Carlow town, for example, has been partially completed. All that is required to complete the project and unlock the land that has potential for housing is a further 800 m stretch. There are already footpaths and street lighting. Another example is the proposed Tullow ring road, which would unlock housing development potential in an area that already has sufficient wastewater capacity. I have already asked the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, to include the ring roads for Carlow town, Kilkenny city and Tullow in the national development plan in order to secure the much-needed funding for those projects, which can only go to enhance and develop counties Carlow and Kilkenny, and provide more housing, as we go forward. The infrastructural needs of both counties, which I have outlined, must be met if we are to fulfil the programme for Government target of delivering more than 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030.

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