Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Irish Water is proposing to pump yet more water into Dublin’s cripplingly compromised, leaking water supply system. The Shannon project would be one of Ireland’s biggest infrastructure projects, but the analysis on which it was based was littered with mathematical and analytical errors. Corrected analysis, using Irish Water's selected methodology and its current leakage targets, shows that, technically, no new raw water source is needed, although the Kennedy analysis notes that Dublin would benefit from diversification away from its current almost exclusive reliance on surface water sources. A much smaller and less expensive alternative to the Shannon project could provide this. The Shannon project is yet another surface water source and it would be a reckless waste of scarce financial resources.

I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, but I am disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, is not present. The Kennedy analysis has notified Irish Water of the errors in its analysis and that many of its public statements about the need for this project have been false or highly misleading. Irish Water's reaction to the Kennedy analysis has been highly defensive. Instead of addressing the issues, Irish Water makes unrelated and irrelevant statements. Its responses deny the most undeniable errors and even back-track on issues that it had conceded during its meeting with Emma Kennedy in February 2017. Instead of attempting to justify its position on many issues, Irish Water gives itself a clean bill of health without providing any substance, stating simply: "Irish Water do not accept this observation."

The Minister of State's former colleague and the former Minister, big Phil the enforcer, as I used to call him, set up Irish Water and gave it far too many powers. It is a monstrosity, as I said at the time, and I oppose it. It is also known in Irish as Uisce Éireann. This project is going to be a white elephant like the children's hospital and will cost billions. Irish Water says it will be €1.2 billion but it will probably run up to €2 billion. It is to pump water into the Dublin system where 57% of the water supply is leaking from the pipes. If it was happening in one's household one would not go off and spend €20,000 on something without first getting the pipes fixed. We must cut our cloth according to the measure, as ordinary people who are paying the bills must do. This is outrageous and cannot be allowed to proceed.

I compliment Mr. Minihan in Tipperary on his research on this. He is one of the landowners affected. He is not the only person but he is aware of the madness of it and the measure of the pipe and the corridor required. It will create great construction jobs - I do not deny that - but it is wrong and silly. The leaks must be fixed first. Not only is water leaking from the pipes into the ground, but contamination material is seeping in. Huge amounts of chlorine, fluoride and so forth must be used to clear the water and make it safe to drink, causing huge damage to people's health with cancer risks and so forth. This is madness. It is bonkers, as the Minister for Finance said with regard to the women who had to leave their jobs due to the marriage ban. It is bonkers to spend that type of money and wreck a community in the country to take water that is not needed. Fix the leaks and there will be surplus water in Dublin. The Minister must examine that. Irish Water cannot be allowed to pull the wool over people's eyes like that. If it does it will be a case of fool me once, it is my problem but fool me twice, it is the Government's problem. The Minister of State is an understanding man. He is a saner type than the last man we had from Kilkenny in this area. He was a bully, and nothing short of it.

This project cannot proceed. I am not anti-Dublin and I want it to be given water, but it should fix the leaks first and ensure there is proper accountability for the water already there with meters on all houses and junctions. I was never opposed to that as we must know what we are using. It is a valuable resource. Treated water being pumped in will put more pressure on a system that leaks like a sieve and allows contaminants to seep in from sewers and other substances under the ground. It is not on. I appeal to the Minister not to give me a speech written by Irish Water or by an official in his Department. I urge him to re-examine this and to go back to the drawing board. We cannot have another monstrosity like the children's hospital and Irish Water.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I am obliged to inform Deputy Mattie McGrath of what is in the reply but I will go off script. I do not agree with the Deputy that the children's hospital is a white elephant. It has been spoken about for all of my lifetime, just as this issue has been discussed as well.

3 o’clock

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, who could not be here but is glad the Deputy has raised this issue regarding the steps Irish Water has taken to address the need for a new water supply for the eastern and midlands region.

Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has had statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local level. Irish Water as a single national utility is taking a strategic, nationwide approach to asset planning and investment and meeting customer requirements.

The requirement for a new supply source for the Dublin water supply area was first identified in the greater Dublin water supply strategic study published in 1996. The greater Dublin area, GDA, is the water resource zone that includes Dublin city and county along with significant sections of counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. While the GDA is served by eight individual treatment plants, over 80% of the water is sourced from the River Liffey catchment and 11% is sourced from the River Vartry catchment.

Irish Water assumed responsibility for the project following its establishment in 2014 and published a project need report in 2015, which covered the GDA and a wider benefitting corridor to encompass parts of the midlands. Irish Water reports that the sustainable availability of the GDA raw water sources will be utilised to full capacity by 2026. A new source is, therefore, needed in addition to an ambitious programme of leakage reduction.

Irish Water's proposed water supply project for the eastern and midlands region is the result of extensive studies and research and four phases of public consultation. In total, ten options were identified and examined in detail. Research has covered vast criteria, including geographic, demographic, technical, environmental and economic factors. Feedback received from public consultations has been factored into the development of the final proposal by Irish Water at all stages.

Through this process, the Shannon Parteen basin option was identified as the preferred scheme because, via its pipeline route to Dublin, it will deliver the widest benefit to the greatest number of people with the least environmental impact. The Parteen basin scheme comprises the abstraction of water from the lower River Shannon at Parteen basin in County Tipperary, with water treatment at nearby Birdhill. Treated water will then be piped 170 km to a termination point reservoir in south Dublin. Supplies of treated water will be made available to midland communities along the route.

While parallel work is advancing on water conservation projects in the region and nationwide, water saved from fixing leaks will not be enough to meet future demand. Irish Water indicates that raw water sources for the greater Dublin area will be at capacity by 2026 and that the rest of the eastern and midlands region faces similar challenges.

Irish Water is currently preparing a planning application, including an environmental impact report and Natura impact statement, for the water supply project. It intends that the planning application will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála towards the end of this year and water from the project will be available from 2025. Subject to planning approval, it is anticipated that construction will be carried out over a three-to-four-year period commencing in 2022, assuming a positive outcome for the planning application.

The project is intended to meet the domestic, commercial and industrial needs of a region comprising 40% of the population into the medium to long-term future to 2050. It must be recognised that water infrastructure is already struggling to meet the current need and without this project, the eastern and midlands region of the country would face water shortages within ten years. That could mean rationing commercial and domestic supplies and severely impacting economic development and future foreign direct investment. The evidence and assessments clearly show that a long-term and sustainable source of water is needed for the eastern and midlands region to provide future generations with a secure water supply.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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I am very disappointed. I spoke to the Minister of State after the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government, of which I am a member, received analysis of the project which suggests that Irish Water's position on the project is rife with basic mathematical errors and misleading statements about its necessity. The document we received from Kennedy Analysis makes for absolutely terrifying reading in terms of the utter waste of hundreds of millions of euro of public money that we do not have. That money could be spent tackling the issues of patients being left on hospital trolleys or waiting for cataract surgery. Ms Emma Kennedy, whom I met last week, has forensically deconstructed Irish Water's estimates for the project and clearly demonstrated that, at the very least, a complete overhaul of the entire project is necessary. I appeal that the Minister not be blind to that. It is taxpayers' money that will be spent, not mine or that of the Minister of State.

As Kennedy Analysis proved, the problem in Dublin in this regard is that its water mains are in a third world state of decay, having been neglected for decades. Some 57% of the water put into the supply system pours through holes and cracks in pipes and goes into the ground, never reaching taps. For there to be 57% leakage is astonishing and far from normal. The Shannon to Dublin pipeline project does nothing to address that, despite its suggested cost of over €1.2 billion. The Kennedy Analysis refers to an OECD study carried out in 2016 to observe leakage levels in cities around the world. Only four cities had leakage levels over 40% and they were all in Mexico. Dublin did not take part in the study. What are we hiding? Are we shamefully afraid to admit to our horrible waste of water? How can this pipeline address this scandal? It will not.

The Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, must call a halt to this project and hold an all-party briefing on the matter to educate Members. On behalf of Liam Minihan, Sarah Kennedy and others, I ask the Minister what will take the cobwebs from his eyes? We are trying to come out of a recession and boost the country.

The Minister of State has stated that land and house owners in the midlands will get water from the pipe. However, they will not be allowed next, nigh nor near the pipe because of the water pressure within it. It is untrue to say that people in that area will be supplied from the pipe. I know, having turned on a tap after a leak, that the pressure will be too much. The Minister should go back to the drawing board, look at reality and not have another con and another tribunal in 20 years' time into this monumental waste of money.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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On the points the Deputy has raised, it would be a good idea to have a briefing with Deputies-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Please.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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-----from the mid-west area, including Tipperary------

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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And those from Dublin.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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-----and Deputies from Dublin with Irish Water and I have no problem facilitating that.

I fully agree with the Deputy's points regarding the amount of water that is wasted. A huge amount of time has been devoted to that subject in this Chamber over the past five or six years. It is equally important to point out that Irish Water has made significant improvements in certain parts of the country, as the Deputy is aware. There has been a 20% reduction in the amount of treated water going straight into the ground. The improvements are still not enough and the Deputy knows as well as do I that there are parts of the city and country with water infrastructure that is completely outdated, leaking and unsuitable for the future.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Leaking both ways.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of the scheme is to look toward the longer-term future for Dublin and the eastern region. It is not correct to say that the regions through which the pipe passes will not be supplied. They will not be linked in to the main pipe, or at least not legally so, but there are methods-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Or illegally. They are going to blow it sky high.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy McGrath should allow the Minister of State to respond.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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-----of ensuring that there will be services to the midlands-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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All for Dublin.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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-----as well as Dublin and that forms part of the scheme. We have to ensure------

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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To Dublin or to hell.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We will move on if Deputy McGrath does not allow the Minister of State to reply.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Deputy McGrath is, like myself, a country man at heart-------

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Dublin-centric.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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-----but we need a thriving capital city and environs, such as east Meath, where Deputy Thomas Byrne is from. That part of the country has experienced huge development in recent years-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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There is plenty of water in east Meath.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy McGrath is being very disorderly.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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------with more to come and needs an adequate water supply. However, I am happy to arrange a briefing on this scheme and will revert to the Deputy.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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That will probably never happen.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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That concludes Topical Issues.