John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The country has been deemed officially by Met Éireann to be in drought. In some ways, this is to be welcomed because we are entitled to a good few days of weather. After the past five years of rain during the summer, I do not want to rain on anyone’s parade, so to speak, and spoil the moment as I am enjoying the good weather myself.

The Internet, Twitter and Facebook seem to have gone into overload regarding the birth of a royal baby. In the context of what we have been discussing here for several days and what we are trying to achieve during the final days of the current sitting of the Seanad, it would be remiss of me not to wish the mother and baby well.

I have been preoccupied for some time, not just because of the latest spell of fine weather, by the failure of previous Governments to provide for strategic infrastructure in water provision. The Ahern Governments seemed to regale in the building of houses, with over 600,000 housing units built over ten years but nothing else besides. What we have been left with are concrete jungles and many housing estates without facilities, including for water provision. No one thought it through. It is the same with schools, with the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, having to play catch-up in replacing prefab classrooms across the country.

This story is told time and again across urban centres. Water provision is like Cinderella. We have been left with Victorian water infrastructure, with water pipes leaking 40% of treated water, costing the taxpayer billions. It seems absurd that, in a country where up until this year it never seemed to stop raining, that we are now about to run out of water. I do not want to be part of a Government that allows the country to run out of water. In recent weeks the Government has been successful in attracting new investment from the Kerry Group, Pfizer and Intel which provides employment in the Leinster region way beyond Kildare where it is based.

These employees come from Laois, Offaly and Dublin and are glad of that employment. One of our strategic resources, assets and advantages is our clean, secure and sustainable supply of water. However, we are on a knife edge because the balance between supply and demand is very precarious and will deteriorate. Were it not for the recession, we would be at a more critical juncture.

I welcome the establishment of Irish Water and am perhaps one of the few politicians in the country who is willing to put his hand on his heart and welcome charging for water. I make no apologies for thinking it long overdue. However, it is wrong for the Government to emphasise and prioritise the water metering programme and charging for water without simultaneously ensuring we have a secure supply of water. I believe that can be achieved by the construction of the first reservoir in this country to be built in 70 years. It is a giant project between Dublin City Council and Bord na Móna that has been on the books for 12 years. They had the vision and foresight to pursue this at a time when it was not fashionable and when Bertie Ahern wanted to build the Bertie bowl. We should have been building and securing strategic infrastructure.

I welcome the establishment of Irish Water but I want to know how high on its priority list is the provision of the Garryhinch reservoir - a secure and safe water supply that we are in control of. If we are to aid commerce, industry, foreign direct investment, householders and the agricultural sector and meet our targets under Harvest 2020, we must have a secure supply of water. As we speak, ten local authorities are already rationing water. We have hosepipe bans, which are necessary because some people seem to think nothing of watering lawns with treated water. This is not acceptable and cannot continue but the answer to it is to build the Garryhinch reservoir in Portarlington which will ensure that this country has a secure supply of water for Leinster and the midlands. It is not a Dublin issue and I hope that Irish Water understands how serious the problem is. I hope the Minister of State has a positive answer for me this evening.