Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)

The Minister of State is very welcome. I acknowledge the work done by him and the Minister on the housing plan. As I said yesterday, it is in all our interests that the plan succeeds. Investment in Irish Water and the requirements of the company are key to the delivery of homes.

I compliment Uisce Éireann, in conjunction with Galway County Council, which has been working on this over the past 20 to 25 years, on the amount of work done in the Galway area.I can start with works in Moycullen, Oughterard, Clifden, Letterfrack, Leenaun, Clonbur, Headford, Milltown, Baile Chláir, Kinvara and an Spidéal that have been delivered over those years. They are also around coastal areas and valuable lake resources like Lough Corrib. They are all necessary and have assisted in terms of development. There may be others that I have left out. Athenry was mentioned by Senator Rabbitte. I am sure there are others in east Galway that I would not be as familiar with.

Uisce Éireann also has plans in relation to An Cheathrú Rua, which is a Gaeltacht service village. There have been issues with site selection there for a long number of years. There has been a long history with it, including the compulsory purchase order, CPO, being challenged and all of that. Níl an suíomh atá ann feiliúnach agus caithfidh siad suíomh eile a fháil. Caithfidh siad an obair sin a dhéanamh agus tosú arís chun suíomh nua a fháil don scéim séarachais sa Cheathrú Rua. Galway, like the rest of the country, needs more homes. Much of this will happen east of the city, in Ardaun at the end of the motorway near the Galway Clinic. We need investment in wastewater treatment in that area to cope with the increase in population expected. The treatment plant at Mutton Island has capacity but the network needs expansion.

We need to expedite the greater Galway area drainage strategy and follow on with the network required. There are plans to fast-track certain key infrastructure projects. The greater Galway area drainage strategy is a vital one because it will serve a huge hinterland east of Galway city, both in the city and county, that is ripe for infrastructure development. It would tie into the rail network, with the station in Oranmore and the proposals for Garraun. That is one project that should be fast-tracked in any proposals in the Government's plans.

The strategy also includes the towns of Oranmore and Claregalway and the immediate area. It includes a significant area of industrial zoned land that will also require servicing. My two colleagues mentioned Clarinbridge and Craughwell. Galway County Council prioritised those areas. They were picked in a pilot but, unfortunately, there has not been progress. This is my concern. If, as planned, we gave an amount of money to Uisce Éireann in the morning, how many plans does have that are ready to go and shovel ready? If Uisce Éireann started with an unlimited budget right now, when would it be able to deliver all these projects that Senators Murphy and Rabbitte mentioned in various towns in east Galway? That is a concern that I have. The pilot scheme is good on paper, but when we do not see the delivery, as has certainly been the case in Galway, it causes concern in relation to Uisce Éireann's future ability to deliver. However, we need it to deliver and we need to put in place all strategies and assistance to ensure it delivers.

Storm Éowyn exposed many vulnerabilities in the water supply system. Many areas in the worst hit counties were without water for over a week. The inability to connect generators to the electrical systems and pumping stations left homes, farms and businesses in a critical state. This cannot happen again. Uisce Éireann must ensure that all of its plans are generator enabled with the proper switchover facilities. It seems like a no-brainer because it has the generators, but it cannot plug them in effectively to ensure that enough water is pumped. I hope Uisce Éireann has done its analysis and enabling works to ensure that if another Storm Éowyn happens, as it will, there will not be the same impact.

I agree with the Minister of State's opening comment that we all expect improvements due to the funding to Irish Water and that these are essential, rather than optional. It has to prioritise those areas that can deliver homes wherever they are and put in place whatever measures are needed to fast-track investment and the development of homes in our counties, towns and rural settlements for the people of this country.