Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)

I wish to be associated with the fine comments of Senator Kennelly in relation to the late Jim Finucane. He was an absolute gentleman and a pleasure to meet. As the Senator said, he did incredible work supporting Ukrainian citizens coming to Ireland initially. I extend my condolences to his family and friends.

I ask that we have a debate with the Minister for housing on wastewater treatment. In Tipperary, we have ongoing problems with water quality and capacity. Huge investment is being made in Irish Water to build new infrastructure across the country and in cities. In Clonmel, we have had problems for years because we are at capacity and cannot develop for that reason. Changes are being made whereby the water system is being moved to Monroe. The quality of water is not as good as it was originally. This is having a huge impact on locals there.

Over the last three months, we have had serious issues with the Goatenbridge water treatment plant. Thousands of people from the Goatenbridge area, Ardfinnan, Grange, Cahir and that area have been on boil water notices for four months. Then, almost on a weekly basis, the water is out for a number of hours. Tomorrow, it will be out all day for what Irish Water claims are minor works or minor upgrades. This is happening on a weekly basis, with very little clarity on when it might end. It is causing huge disruptions to homes and businesses. In our area, when the water is out, it essentially means that a lot of the childcare providers in Clonmel have to close because they do not have any water and for health and safety reasons, they cannot have young kids on the premises all day with no water and no toilets working. This means that everyone has to change their schedule for the whole day and pick up their kids and bring them home. They have to tell their boss they cannot stay at work because childcare facilities are closing. It is having a huge impact on the whole region. We have not had the Minister for housing in the House for a while to talk about water and water infrastructure. Taking into account the plan for investing in infrastructure, we also need to look at upgrading and improving the infrastructure we have in place.