Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I live approximately 7 miles from Eyre Square. At 45 years of age, I can remember heading over to the neighbour's as a young lad to get buckets of water from the well and turn on pumps to pump water from the river. Fortunately, group water schemes were put in place throughout rural Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s. There was very much a hands-on approach by rural residents to improve their lot, with support from local authorities and the State. It was not much appreciated during the debate on the establishment of Irish Water and the introduction of water charges that people in rural Ireland had done so much to improve their lot and avail of clean drinking water.

When I was elected to Galway County Council in 2004, there was a huge list of wastewater projects that had not been developed across County Galway. There are still some projects to be completed but, fortunately, in the intervening period, and certainly since the establishment of Irish Water, there has been much progress on a range of schemes, including in Headford, Claregalway, Milltown, Oughterard, Leenane, Letterfrack, Clifden and Kinvara. There are other areas that need work, some of which Irish Water is progressing through planning permission, including in An Cheathrú Rua, where there are difficulties in terms of planning, An Spidéal, where planning has been granted, and Roundstone, where the process is under way. Other areas like Clarenbridge, which is a fine town that has a network, do not have a proper sewerage scheme. There is still an amount of work to be done.

One of my concerns regarding Irish Water is that it is very much focused, for financial reasons and out of necessity, because of pressure from the EPA on dealing with the list of towns and villages with which the agency has issues. There must be more strategic thinking in terms of areas that need to be primed for development. For example, what was called the east Galway main drainage scheme, which is east of Galway city and encompasses the Athenry, Clarenbridge and Oranmore areas, is a strategic project for delivery, involving areas that are identified for growth in Galway city and environs in the national planning framework. It is very much a critical project that Irish Water needs to take hold of and deliver.

I welcome the Green Party's motion. We all agree on the absolute necessity of clean drinking water and treated waste water and ensuring we get the continued investment needed to provide these very important projects, both small-scale and large-scale, in our cities, towns and villages. I commend the Green Party on its motion.