Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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The people of west Cork are genuinely at the end of their tethers. Since July, they have had 14 water breakages. It has led to the local crèche and school having to close because if they do not have water they cannot remain open, use toilets or whatever else. I was at a public meeting the other night which was attended by other public representatives. The local Airbnbs had to give money back to people because they could not shower in the morning. People who had coffee shops basically had to close their doors. These are small things that mean a lot to businesses. It was the same with animals who were stressed without water, which was a huge issue throughout the summer. I went through it myself 20 years ago in Schull.

A number of solutions were put forward during the public meeting. Some made sense and some did not but they need to be discussed. We need to sit down with Uisce Éireann and we need a pathway forward. I, and the public representatives who were there - and I have met them since in the corridor here - are worn out looking for Uisce Éireann to give a straight answer. Will the Minister meet the local community group, maybe three individuals, with the Oireachtas Members to talk about what Uisce Éireann's intentions are in laying down a new water pipe for the people of Adrigole so they can get a proper water supply and do not have to look over their shoulders and worry whether they will be closing their business or their school tomorrow morning? The water was out for a spell and somebody said to me recently that a newborn baby had to be taken to stay at someone else's house overnight. It is the basics.

The bottom line is that I genuinely cannot get an answer. What I hope I can get this evening is an answer because I have really pulled out all of the stops on this. I understand the stress people are going through because I went through it myself 20 years ago. At that time, it was the council. The councils were more or less in charge and that is the way it should have stayed because we had some accountability and councils were able to give answers. Councillor Danny Collins, who is my brother and an Independent Ireland councillor down there, has been dealing with this issue on a week-to-week basis. Apparently the council is now saying we can no longer bring Uisce Éireann up in a motion because it no longer has anything more to do with Uisce Éireann. That is outrageous because public representatives should be bringing up whatever issues they have and then it is up to the council. Obviously, the council cannot resolve the issue now; it is Uisce Éireann. The council should pass the issue on to Uisce Éireann and let it come back on it.

The bottom line is that in all of my weeks bringing this issue up, and previously as well, I cannot get an answer. The Minister of State from Cork South-West cannot get an answer nor can the Fine Gael Senator. I spoke to them and they told me so. We want Uisce Éireann to sit down and meet the local group, including ourselves, to tell us what it intends to do and what will happen. It might take two month or six months but, please God, it will happen. God almighty, it is a living terror to think all I am getting is a generic answer. All the Minister is getting is a generic answer. All everybody is getting, including the community group I set up to deal with this issue, is a generic answer.

There is a huge room full of people protesting because they want their common right; a clear water supply so they know they can turn their taps or shower on in the morning or get an animal a bit of water. It is very basic. That is being denied to the people of Adrigole right now. I ask the Minister whether we can have a meeting with Uisce Éireann and what the plan for Adrigole is. I pray to God the Minister of State here has an answer and that it is not the generic one we got because it was the most crazy answer. It was all about the dry summer and the floods and then Adrigole, was dropped in. It just alters the answer and throws in "Adrigole" because it has thrown in hundreds of other communities up to now. That will not work. It is like an AI-generated answer but it will not work. I sincerely hope the Minister of State has an answer for me and that she gives me a good, clear answer in her four minutes, so I can go back to west Cork and say that things are going to be sorted and we are all working together on this issue.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be glad to know I will not say "dry summer" or "flooding".

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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Thank you.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is obviously a really important issue for the people he represents and it must be very frustrating for them. The Deputy will appreciate the supply of public water and the provision of water services in general are, as the Deputy alluded to, matters for Uisce Éireann in the first instance. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The Minister has no function regarding the specific Uisce Éireann’s operations in Adrigole to which the Deputy referred.

To be helpful, the Department has made inquiries to Uisce Éireann on the Deputy's behalf and has been informed that there were 18 bursts recorded in Adrigole between May and 31 October of this year. For unforeseen unplanned outages, it is not possible to provide advance notice to customers. When these occur, Uisce Éireann immediately mobilises repair crews to investigate the source of the burst and works as a matter of priority to repair the water main and restore normal water supply to impacted homes and businesses as quickly as possible. Uisce Éireann does that for exactly the reasons the Deputy outlined because coffee shops, farmers, families and everybody relies on clean, accessible water.

When an unplanned outage occurs and repairs have been undertaken, typically, it takes three to four hours for normal supply to be restored to all customers affected. However, it may take longer for normal supply to be restored to customers at the end of the network or on higher ground as the system recharges. Uisce Éireann has informed the Department that the situation in Adrigole has stabilised since 31 October, and I hope that has been the Deputy's experience and the experience of his constituents. It said there has been a noticeable easing off in the frequency of bursts.

Uisce Éireann has given a commitment to continue to monitor the area, mobilise repair crews promptly and provide updates to elected representatives, including Councillor Danny Collins, and the community as more information becomes available.

Similar to other townlands across the country facing comparable challenges due to weather-related pressures and ageing infrastructure, Uisce Éireann is working through these systematically. The frequency of bursts is taken into consideration when prioritising water main rehabilitation projects. However, they are limited in what can be rehabilitated each year.

A case for mains rehabilitation works for the Adrigole area is currently under consideration by Uisce Éireann. I presume this was one of the suggestions the Deputy mentioned came out of the public meeting he attended. As the process is only in the initial stages, it is too early to confirm a timeframe at this stage. Uisce Éireann has committed to me that it will share further updates with elected representatives and the community in this regard once available.

Our water and wastewater infrastructure requires substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring the systems up to the standards required of a modern service and to provide for population growth and to build resilience in the face of climate change. That is why this year the Government provided record funding to Uisce Éireann under the national development plan to ensure that we continue to prioritise these types of infrastructure upgrades and new developments.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I will break the reply down to the basics. The Minister of State said, "A case for mains rehabilitation works for the Adrigole area is under consideration by Uisce Éireann. As the process is only in the initial stages, it is too early to confirm a timeframe at this stage." It has admitted there have been 18 bursts since last May. How can be "in the initial stages"? People have been without water 18 times since May. I hate making comparisons, because we must represent the people of Dublin, but that would not happen in Dublin. There would not be 18 disruptions without something being done immediately and without an answer being given. I would plead with the Minister of State if she has not got that answer. I need that answer immediately. For three or four weeks, I have been asking then those works are going to start.

There has been a temporary solution. There is talk about a temporary water pipe up on the ditch, as happened in other communities. It worked out. I have no issue with that but I would rather something more permanent. The community has come back to me recently with a more permanent solution. Councillor Danny Collins is working on that as well to make sure we maybe lay the pipe opposite to where the pipe is laid already. The bottom line is that works need to commence, we need a date for the works but that is not happening.

The Minister of State can only read out the reply she got. I respect her for that. The bottom line is I cannot go back to the community with that reply because it is going to go nowhere. That will not ease the worry of the crèche owner, the school owner or the Airbnbs. They know there will be a lot more breakages and I am going to be back in the Dáil in 12 months talking about it.

The Minister of State said, "The Minister has no function ...". Good God almighty, the Government is giving €13 billion of taxpayers' money to Uisce Éireann. Surely to God somebody has responsibility for it because it has given up being responsible. At one time, you could sit around the table but it was only a short amount of time. Now we cannot even sit around the table.

All I am asking the Minister of State is whether she can give me a date as to when it will meet or a date as to when works will start in Adrigole in west Cork.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I cannot because the process is only at the initial stages. A case for the mains rehabilitation works in the Adrigole area is currently under consideration by Uisce Éireann. It has not made a determination on that. Only when it makes a determination on that will it be possible to move forward with a timeframe. The frequency of bursts is taken into consideration when it prioritises water main rehabilitation projects. We have outlined that there have been 18 bursts in a short period of time. That will be taken into consideration.

It also needs to be taken into consideration that Uisce Éireann has said that this situation has stabilised since 31 October and there has been what it describes as "a noticeable easing off in the frequency of bursts."

From an initial perspective, we want to reduce and mitigate bursts and Uisce Éireann is working to do that. Taking a longer term approach, it wants to do rehabilitation works on that line. That is something it is now considering doing. When it has made a decision that, it will come back and let public representatives, including councillors, know it had made that decision. I am sure I will be in a position to update the Deputy on timeframes at that point.

The Deputy stated in his initial remarks that the county council has said that it is not possible to take motions that refer to Uisce Éireann and I am quite surprised by that. That is not the standard approach in local authorities up and down the country. I would certainly encourage the Deputy to speak to Councillor Collins and maybe suggest that he take that up with one of the representative bodies, Local Authorities Members Association, LAMA, or the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, as that needs to be sorted as well.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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The pipe is in an awful way. It is creaking at the seams. We need a meeting and we need the new water works to be commenced there.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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The Deputy's time has passed.