Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I could not agree more. The people in the Senator's community will understand that things go wrong and that it is completely reasonable in any walk of life or in any part of the State services that problems will occur and will have to be fixed. However, how State services respond to problems matters as much as anything else. The lack of communication with people is evident because the Senator would not raise the matter with me this morning if it was not a significant problem.

I am embarrassed that I cannot give the Senator and the people in the area a better answer. The boil-water notice had to be raised in Seanad Éireann, at this level, when it should never get this far. The Senator and I are here, supported by all the institutions of the State, the man hours that facilitate the Seanad and everything else, and I cannot give a better answer. I certainly hope that Uisce Éireann will respond to his concern by providing better communication to the people affected. That is the only thing that matters. Perhaps it will do so through the director of services, the Senator or other public representatives in the area who no doubt are equally concerned about the well-being of their constituents.