Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Since I became involved in politics and especially since I went to live in rural Ireland, having grown up in a city where water, street lights, pavements, sewerage and all these services were taken for granted, it always surprised me that fundamental, basic services are seen as too expensive and unaffordable for rural people.

There are four services that should be in every house in the country. The first of them is electricity. Thankfully, we have achieved that. We achieved it at a time when this country was relatively poor and when it was much slower and more difficult to provide fundamental infrastructure. The second is broadband. We will put fibre into every premises in the country. It is a brave decision, on which I disagreed with the policy of my own party. I absolutely supported what the Government of the time did, in saying fibre broadband would go to every premises and rather than to shilly-shally, that the right job be done. The third service is nearly complete, that is, a decent road that can be travelled to every house. We do not need motorways, but we need a road with a decent surface. It has been done in most places and the remaining places are being done under the local improvement scheme. The scheme is not ideal, but at least the roads are getting done. The fourth service is water. A fundamental thing that everybody needs is clean - as it is called in jargon - potable drinking water. For some reason, there is a lacuna here and the system keeps balking at providing for the 10% of houses that do not have public water supplies or a group scheme connected to their premises.

There is much talk about a referendum on water. I presume that when people talk about a referendum on water, they are talking about the right of every household in the country to clean drinking water and that it be central to this referendum. Only 10% of houses do not have this service. When we look at the spend - the Minister of State might have it - on water and wastewater in this country, it is approximately €2 billion. The vast majority of that goes into wastewater, which only serves 70% of the people. I have a great answer before me, which is full of jargon, to a previous question I raised. Time and again, we are told it is not economically possible. Basic services are very rarely economic, in the economist's view of the world. They are choices for society. I am suggesting the Government make a decision that every house in the country have those four fundamental services, that is, water, electricity, broadband and a road. If we could say we had achieved that - this is 2023 - we would have done something very basic in this country.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The Government’s vision for water services, whether publicly supplied by Uisce Éireann or otherwise delivered under the rural water programme, is set out in the water services policy statement 2018 to 2025. It is based on the delivery and development of water services in line with the needs and expectations of citizens and users, in compliance with legal obligations, in a fair and cost-effective manner and in keeping with the principles of social, economic and environmental sustainability. We continue, as a Government, to upgrade our investment in water services infrastructure, in keeping with our EU drinking water and wastewater services obligations, and in line with population growth and economic development needs in both urban and rural areas.

Factors such as distance and geography mean that connection to the public water system, operated by Uisce Éireann, is unlikely to be a technically feasible or economically viable solution for all households and businesses in the State.

It is precisely because of this viability challenge that the Government necessarily supports a diverse range of measures under the rural water programme to address the water services needs of rural households and communities where connection to the public networks managed by Uisce Éireann is not possible. Some 6% of people have their drinking water supplied by either public or private group schemes. Public group water schemes are group schemes supplied with treated drinking water in bulk by Uisce Éireann, whereas private group water schemes abstract, treat and distribute drinking water to their members. Private group water schemes are generally co-operative groups. There are wonderful groups right around the country. A further 10% of people get their drinking water from private wells.

With regard to wastewater services census data indicates that approximately one third of households rely on individual, group or other waste water treatment arrangements. Apart from the economic cost of connection it should also be clear from the arrangements I have outlined that many of the facilities in place, although supported by significant and growing State investment and support, and rightly so, are not in public ownership. The State approach in such situations is to work as collaboratively and as supportively as possible with the communities involved while respecting local community expectations and co-operative ownership arrangements. It would erroneous to assume that connection to a public water network would be a universal choice adopted by all citizens and communities.

Arrangements for connection of existing group water and waste water schemes to Uisce Éireann are, of course, possible and proactively encouraged where such an arrangement is technically feasible and economically viable. Clearly, however, the Exchequer support provided through the rural water programme will continue to be necessary to deliver improvements to the quality, reliability and efficiency of private water services in areas of rural Ireland where there is no access to piped water services. As the Deputy will appreciate, the Government is strongly committed to fair and balanced development for urban and rural communities alike. Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 presents the Government’s blueprint and policy measures for recovery and development of rural Ireland over the period from 2021 to 2025. The policy document identifies deficits in water and wastewater infrastructure which present a particular challenge to the development of many rural towns and villages and states that this issue needs to be addressed to revitalise rural towns and villages. This matter raised, therefore, is a priority for Government and good progress is being made though the combined efforts of our local authorities working in conjunction with household and businesses at community level, and, where appropriate, Uisce Éireann.

The national development plan includes an allocation of €175 million over the period 2021 to 2025 for investment in rural water infrastructure under the rural water programme. My Department is also currently finalising work on the review of the rural water sector, which is considering issues such as governance, supervision and monitoring, along with the wider investment needs of the sector to be provided for under the ongoing multi-annual rural water programme. The aim of the review is to recommend actions now and into the future to ensure an equality of outcomes for those served by Uisce Éireann or supported under the rural water programme.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I did not get a copy of the Minister of State's speech but he said that the water services policy from 2018 to 2025 is based on the delivery and development of water services in line with the needs and expectations of citizens and users, in compliance with legal obligations, in a fair and cost-effective manner and in keeping with the principles of social, economic and environmental sustainability. I have been reading this again and again and trying to decipher it into simple, understandable terms. Does it or does it not mean that every house in the country should have access to drinking water, clean, treated and tested? If it does not, the policy is flawed.

It is amazing we can put fibre in and we cannot put water in. I hear this argument about the economics of doing this. We have a working model that proves the economics are not anything like they are made out to be. I invite the Minister of State to come down to that area between Clonbur and the far end of the Maam valley, including places such as Glentraigue, a dead-end valley, Crumlin valley, Dooros and all these peninsulas and valleys that we have in that area. It is as scattered a rural community as he will find. Under the Clár programme, the grant at the time was €5,000 and we charged the householders approximately €500 so that was €5,500. With a very modest top-up, we were able to bring water to virtually every house. We missed two houses, one because they would not take it and the other one was a bit over the mountain for the way we were costing the schemes. The whole area was done. It is as scattered as is possible to find in the country. It is a once-off cost and running and maintaining good, well-laid water schemes is very cheap after that. We know in our area. Those group schemes that were put in were all connected to the public main and we now have one of the best quality water systems in the country with little maintenance because it was all built to standard and new. I and the Department responsible for rural development can absolutely demolish the theory that it is not affordable. I have argued this point with the Minister of State's colleague with responsibility for rural development. The Clár programme had a very efficient scheme for doing exactly what I want done in conjunction with the Department responsible for water. It was delivering water in all of these areas until the Government of 2011 abolished it. A good section had been done. The economic argument is blown absolutely out of the water. We have the rural regeneration and development fund and all sorts of fancy things are being done under that but none of them are as fundamental as the right to water. The right to water is coming on the agenda. When that happens, the 10%, which is 200,000 houses, give or take, who will be marching and demanding that they have a right to clean, tested, treated water as much as anybody else.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I agree wholeheartedly with the Deputy. That right of everyone to have clean potable drinking water is fundamental. I mentioned the Federation of Group Water Schemes in my initial reply. It is an organisation to be greatly admired. The members have delivered high-quality water and work on environmental and other biodiversity initiatives around the country. They really are an exemplar of how to deliver water into remote rural areas. Our Government is committed to supporting the federation's work. We fund Uisce Éireann to deliver water to rural towns and villages as well and encourage as many communities as possible to connect into water schemes. That is a given. I note too the point that there are many households for which either private group water schemes or the option to connect to other schemes are not there. It is critically important that people living in those areas are able to access clean drinking water through recognised systems and wells. A lot of them are delivering their water through private wells so that is to be accepted. It is not possible to reach all areas across the country.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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It is possible. Check your facts.