Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to request that the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government come before us in September. That request has been made by a number of other Senators in order to discuss social and affordable housing and the homeless crisis. The issue I wish to raise comprises two interconnected aspects.One of these relates to the county development plan process, which every county council is undergoing, and the impact the national planning framework and the regional plans are having on our councillors. I raised the very unfair distribution of population figures several times at committee hearings. We are now asking councillors to make very tough decisions.

The role of Irish Water is connected to that. It is a chicken-and-egg situation. We cannot have sustainable development without infrastructure. I raised this issue at committee level. Irish Water is not answerable to this House at all, which is a complete and utter failure. That needs to be addressed. The State writes Irish Water a check for €750 million per year. There is no accountability in that regard. We have talked about regional development and sustainable development. Irish Water has no interest in the development of small towns and villages because there is no profit in it. My proposal at the time was to ring-fence a percentage of that €750 million for the development of small towns and rural villages. A 10% share would give us €75 million a year to invest in small towns and rural villages to allow them to sustain themselves in future. It is even more important now with the advent of Covid-19. We can develop spaces that will allow people to work in their towns rather than coming up to Dublin.

While Senator Byrne has probably sat in the Dáil Chamber as a Senator for longer than I did as a Deputy, I did not think I would be sitting here again so soon. It is disappointing that I have not yet had the opportunity to sit in the Seanad Chamber. I thank all the staff for making everything possible today and I hope they enjoy their summer recess.