Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Aontaím leis an Seanadóir Ó Donnghaile agus leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach faoi TG4 agus an ról tábhachtach atá aige. Guím breithlá sona dó.

I welcome this afternoon's positive announcement by the Minister, Deputy Harris, on the designation of a technological university for the south east. This is something that our region has been seeking for a long time and it will be transformative for the region. When it opens on 1 May, it will become the fourth or fifth largest university by student number in the country. It will be a considerable achievement and will play a role not just in regional economic and social development, but in dealing with national and global challenges. We should put on the record of the House our thanks to all of the team in Institute of Technology Carlow, Waterford Institute of Technology and others for ensuring that this has finally come to pass.

The House will recall how I raised a problem that arose in Gorey in August at the Creagh water treatment plant when E. coli was found in our water supply. In an unrelated incident, a boil water notice is currently in place in Gorey and Wexford town. There is also a boil water notice in place in Enniscorthy. This means that the three largest towns in County Wexford are facing boil water notices.I accept that this is part of the major review of all our water treatment plants that is going on to make sure they are up to scratch but there is also a problem with regard to housing. We have discussed in this House previously that a lot of our failure to reach some of our targets will be because Irish Water will not supply enough connections to have an adequate water supply. As we are moving towards a single utility, I ask for a specific debate on the role of Irish Water in the housing area, as well as in ensuring that all our citizens have access to a good, reliable and clean water supply.