Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will follow on from the theme raised by Senator Conway on the issue we have with water restrictions. We have had an exceptionally dry period over the past four or five weeks and the knock-on effect of the dry period is that wells and water systems throughout Ireland are under pressure. In my part of the world places such as Nohoval and Robert's Cove are under pressure, as are major towns such as Clonakilty where there were water restrictions last night from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. This will be a big issue. Having water restrictions in place in early July means we will have at least six to eight weeks of real water issues in my part of the world. Traditionally we are used to having an issue in August if we have had a dry summer. This is six weeks earlier than ever anticipated. I am very concerned about what will happen, not alone with regard to our tourism trade and busy towns but also the agricultural community, which depends on water for very obvious reasons as they have to feed their animals.

This is a crisis we have to manage over the next eight or nine weeks. I do not see any major change in the weather going forward and a long-term plan has to be put in place to ensure water systems can survive the next eight or nine weeks. At present we are sending tankers to many of these places. Clonakilty and Nohoval have received tankers. These tankers are augmenting the supply, which is very positive. We need to put in place a real campaign to start monitoring water and to ensure there are no leakages. We must also ensure there is no waste of water. The public needs to be informed on an hourly basis on the water levels required in order that we can actually survive the next five or six weeks. In the long term, we need real investment in these places to ensure we have a water supply in order that these towns can develop and, more importantly, the water systems required for the future are put in place so that when we have dry weather like this, we will not have the crisis we have at present.