Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Ó Cearúil very much. I accept the points he makes and how genuine he is in raising them and outlining the impact. The Minister, Deputy Browne, has made inquiries and was informed that there are operational challenges in the wastewater network in Celbridge, including Hazelhatch. However, under the national leakage reduction programme, Uisce Éireann is progressing with the replacement of 5.2 km of old water mains between Newcastle, County Dublin, and Celbridge, County Kildare. The main contractor is mobilising crews to commence site investigations that are necessary for the design stage of the project. The construction phase is estimated to commence in quarter 3 of 2025.

The Deputy raised a couple of other points. There is clearly a need for a structured protocol in Irish Water. We spoke about the impact on the schools. There are two issues in that regard. The first is the water mains works that need to be carried out by Uisce Éireann and then the follow-on work involving the reconstruction of the road itself. The local authority and the Department of Transport would probably be involved, along with Uisce Éireann.

I will go back to the Minister, Deputy Browne, to follow up on Uisce Éireann's communication on disruptions and the need to perhaps have a protocol for schools, which is vital. For completeness, I ask the Deputy to follow up by providing those details in correspondence directly to the Minister. I will bring the matter raised to the Minister's attention and to the attention of his officials but, for completeness, I urge the Deputy to set out all the points.

As the Deputy is probably aware, Uisce Éireann has established a dedicated team to deal with queries from public representatives. It can be contacted via email at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or via the dedicated telephone number 0818 578 578. The Deputy makes a valid point that comes up repeatedly about the interaction and response times. It came up in a previous debate here about Uisce Éireann as well. It is a matter that we will continue to bring up directly with Uisce Éireann itself, but I ask the Deputy to email the Minister as well.

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