Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State is most welcome.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Acting Chair. I welcome the opportunity to reflect on the progress that is being made in water services and water quality and the ongoing efforts of the Government and Uisce Éireann in this area. I assure the Seanad that securing a safe and reliable water supply is a top priority for the Government, as is improving water quality in our rivers, lakes and coastal waters. It is worth noting that, over the past ten years, Uisce Éireann has gradually increased capital investment in water services and infrastructure. Investment has risen from €300 million in 2014 to more than €2.5 billion in budget 2026. The revised national development plan provides for record investment of €12.2 billion in the water sector out to 2030, as outlined in Sectoral Investment Plan: Water Services and Water Quality, which the Minister, Deputy Browne, published last week. This record funding will support the delivery of a wide range of projects required for public health and safeguarding the environment. It will also prioritise the delivery of the additional water services capacity required for our new housing targets. This is critical in the context of the new housing action plan published last week.

While €11.7 billion of this funding is being provided to Uisce Éireann, over €300 million has been set aside to scale up and enhance targeted initiatives to improve water quality in our rivers and lakes, strengthen habitats and help entire ecosystems to thrive. Included within the overall allocation of €11.7 billion for Uisce Éireann is €2.5 billion designated for the water supply project for the eastern and midlands region and the greater Dublin drainage project. In addition, €2 billion has been set aside to support housing delivery over the period, which includes the enhancement of the small towns and villages programme. This record funding will strengthen the provision of safe and reliable water services for all our communities and facilitate growth and development in urban and rural areas.

Before the establishment of a single water utility, urban wastewater was cited as one of the top two pressures on water quality. The situation has improved substantially due to Uisce Éireann’s national oversight planning at a national level and continued investment to deliver new and upgraded infrastructure. Urban wastewater has dropped to being the fourth-largest pressure and the record funding allocated to Uisce Éireann under the NDP will help to continue this trend. Only a national authority, backed by strong Government investment in water infrastructure, will deliver the standard of water and wastewater networks and environmental management systems required by Irish citizens and consumers in the 21st century. The funding provided to Uisce Éireann through the NDP will enable it to make necessary, multigenerational improvements to water and wastewater infrastructure that will target enhancing the health and quality of life, protecting our environment, benefiting communities and enabling growth and development across Ireland. The benefits go far beyond the direct impacts on water and wastewater services. It will underpin economic and social activity on a nationwide basis.

On foot of this significant level of funding that has been provided to Uisce Éireann, it is entirely reasonable to expect clear and measurable improvements in how the organisation manages both pre-connection and connection applications. In particular, delays in processing such applications for builders and developers can lead to stalled delivery, which is unacceptable to me as a Minister of State. I have raised these matters directly with Uisce Éireann during our engagements and I have been clear that improved performance in this space is not an option, it is essential. With the substantial resources now at its disposal, the organisation must demonstrate it can meet its stated timelines and deliver a more efficient and responsive service. Statutory decision-making timelines may be required if there is not a significant uplift in performance.

Turning to water quality, water is one of the most important natural resources we possess. In so many ways, water is central to our economy and way of life. The water quality report from the Environmental Protection Agency, published in October, shows that 52% of our surface waters had met their EU water framework directive targets for the period 2019 to 2024 compared with 54% in the previous reporting period of 2016 to 2021. Ireland is ahead of many of our European neighbours as regards water quality, but events such as the fish kill in the River Blackwater in my county of Waterford and neighbouring Cork over the summer are a sobering reminder of the negative impacts on our natural ecosystem if not managed correctly.

Nutrient concentrations in our waters remain higher. However, there has been a reduction in nitrogen concentrations in rivers since the last assessment period within the south, south east and east of the country, which have significant agricultural concentration. This speaks to the ongoing efforts of all stakeholders to change practices and improve performance. Phosphorous levels are reducing in priority areas for action where there is co-ordinated and targeted action, again demonstrating that we can continue the trajectory towards improvements nationally.

The message we can take away from the EPA report is that we still need to do more to address our water quality. The principal means through which we are addressing our water quality is our river basin management plan. A new revised and strengthened plan, the water action plan, was launched towards the end of 2024. This built on the work of previous cycles by incorporating the integrated catchment management approach. The plan sets out the environmental objectives and measures for water quality and lays out the roadmap through which we will endeavour to restore and protect our water bodies up to 2027.

I am acutely conscious of the important role that good agricultural practices play. Farmers across the country have already made significant changes to improve water quality and continue to do so. I have sought to help them further and have brought forward plans under exempted development regulations that will allow farmers to increase slurry storage capacity and construct animal housing without the need to seek planning permission. This will further help farmers to invest quickly to meet environmental standards and increasing slurry storage capacity will greatly assist with Ireland’s nitrates derogation. The specifications of these new exemptions were included in the Department of agriculture’s submission to the public consultation on exempted development and we will finalise these before Christmas.

Uisce Éireann also has a crucial role to play in ensuring effective and efficient management of wastewater services in the country.NDP investment of over €300 million is supporting a wide range of ongoing capital investment in water protection initiatives to support the co-operation I have mentioned. These include partnership programmes with farmers, nature-based solutions in urban areas and river barrier mitigation.

We must remember that water is one of our most important natural resources. Significant progress is being made in addressing the challenges we face but, of course, we must do more. The Government is committed to delivering a sustainable funding path to further enhance the ongoing significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services and addressing our water quality.

What I have outlined is just a snapshot of the work that Uisce Éireann and the whole of the Government are undertaking to secure Ireland's water services and water quality into the future. This work is happening every day in our cities, towns and rural communities, and I commend all the staff in Uisce Éireann, in our local authorities and in all our State agencies on the role they are playing and their desire to increase water quality across our country.

Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)
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We now move on to the group spokespersons. Since we have no Senators from Fianna Fáil, we will move on to the Independent Group and Senator Aubrey McCarthy.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here. He is very welcome to the Seanad, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to today's statements on Irish Water, Uisce Éireann.

I emphasise the critical role, as the Minister of State himself has mentioned, that Uisce Éireann plays in enabling the delivery of new homes. We all know that housing is the defining social and economic challenge of our time. This morning I was at the audiovisual room briefing with the IPAV, at which examples were given as to how property developments are being delayed. One example was given by a developer. He said there is a 125 m waterline to be put in between 75 houses and the proper Uisce Éireann infrastructure. He received a quote from a developer-builder who puts in waterlines and it was €1,000 per metre, that is, €125,000. However, the regulation states he has to go by Uisce Éireann. Uisce Éireann then gave him a quote of over €500,000. That was the debate in the audiovisual room today.

We all know that, across the country, housing projects are being delayed, and it has been mentioned in this House many times, because of the lack of water and infrastructure and it cannot keep pace with demand. I am on the housing committee and we have had Uisce Éireann in and we have seen that many essential projects are drifting, such as the greater Dublin city drainage project, which has been delayed for years. The Shannon-to-Dublin water supply project, without which Dublin faces a critical shortage, has come up many times. Strategic trunk mains and regional upgrades are long overdue across the country. If these projects are truly national priorities, we need full Government backing and legislation to protect them from further delays. There are 20-, 30- and 40-year-old assets that, as the Minister of State has mentioned, need to be updated. They cannot be at the mercy of short-term politics or endless procedural cycles. Their funding and approval timelines must be ring-fenced and protected by law.

Local authorities and developers repeatedly highlight that the single biggest constraint on housing delivery is the availability of serviced land, tier 1 land. Without adequate water and wastewater capacity, planning permissions cannot be activated and communities are left waiting. If we are serious about meeting the Housing for All targets that were announced by the Minister, Deputy James Browne, last week, which are really encouraging, then Irish Water must be resourced and mandated to prioritise the expansion of infrastructure in the growth areas. This is not simply just about pipes and treatment plants; it is about ensuring that families can move into homes, that towns and villages can thrive and that Ireland can meet its obligation to provide shelter for all.

At the same time, the Minister of State mentioned the quality of water, and we cannot lose sight of the quality of water that flows into these homes I have mentioned. The most recent Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, report shows that half our rivers, lakes and estuaries fail to meet good ecological status. We regularly see boil water notices and they remain in place in several communities. Cryptosporidium outbreaks remind us of the risks when infrastructure lags behind.

Irish Water has made progress, and that must be mentioned, in upgrading treatment plants and reducing the number of schemes on the EPA's remedial action list, but challenges remain. Nutrient pollution from agriculture, combined with inadequate wastewater treatment in certain areas, continues to undermine water quality. This has knock-on effects for biodiversity, which has been mentioned in this House many times, for public health and for Ireland's compliance with EU directives.

I ask the Minister of State to address the task, which is twofold: to ensure that Irish Water can deliver the infrastructure necessary for housing and to guarantee that the water supply is safe and clean but also sustainable. Investment must be accelerated, planning must be streamlined and collaboration with farmers, communities and NGOs must be deepened.

I acknowledge the announcement of the Minister, Deputy Browne, last week that, under the housing plan, an additional €12.2 billion will be invested in water services. This is a significant and a very welcome commitment. Such a level of funding will not only accelerate housing delivery, I believe, but also ensure that serviced land is available. It will also modernise and expand our water infrastructure nationwide.

Another issue that always comes to the fore is zoning and servicing and the gridlock that happens there. Councils will not zone land - I know this from my own area - unless Uisce Éireann confirms capacity. Uisce Éireann cannot confirm capacity without the proper funding, so it is like a catch-22. That is a gridlock that certainly needs to be addressed, and I believe the Minister, Deputy Browne, will do that.

Housing and water are inseparable, and families cannot move into homes without reliable services. Those services must meet the highest standards of quality. I urge the Government to give Irish Water the resources and authority it needs to deliver both homes for our people and clean water for our community.

I am not too sure if the Minister of State knows, but today is World Toilet Day. Clean water and so on is essential for every aspect of what we have in our house.

Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for giving us an opportunity to speak on this. I will go back to my time as a local councillor on South Dublin County Council, when I raised an awful lot of issues regarding water. I had family members who worked in the water section and knew the water system like the back of their hands. They were passionate. I knew a lot of the staff who historically worked in the water section of the council. When I was a councillor raising those issues, I found the response time to be efficient, quick and comprehensive. I did notice, however, after responsibility was moved from South Dublin County Council to Uisce Éireann, a deterioration in the response times and in the quality of responses I received.

Last week I reported an urgent query regarding a flood in my constituency and provided all the necessary information: full details, location and photographs. It took 48 hours for me to receive a response, and that response was requesting an eircode and clarification on whether the issue was related to water or wastewater. That is not a functioning system. If an elected representative cannot get a timely, basic response during an emergency, members of the public have no chance.

I recognise the significant progress being made under the revised national development plan. There is record investment of €12.2 billion in the water sector and 95% allocated to Uisce Éireann. This is upgrading the water and wastewater infrastructure nationwide, tackling long-standing deficits, enabling population growth and supporting housing delivery. Investment in rural water services is also being ramped up. A total of €306 million has been allocated to water quality improvements, and targeted projects such as the farming for water EIP, nature-based solutions in urban areas and the national barrier mitigation programme are already delivering tangible environmental benefits. Capital delivery capacity has risen from €300 million in 2014 to €1.3 billion today.More than €10.2 billion in further capital works is committed to under the strategic funding plan to 2029. These are real achievements that deserve acknowledgement.

Investment must be matched by operational performance, however. In that context, I refer to the long delays in connection agreements for water and wastewater, particularly for smaller housing projects. Local builders, community developers and voluntary organisations are experiencing extended waiting periods. These are holding back delivery of badly needed homes. The programme for Government commits to statutory timelines and improved pre-connection processes. Developers cannot be stuck in limbo for months. Is there a plan to shorten these timelines and give applicants certainty?

I will also highlight capacity issues in south Dublin. For example, the Dodder Valley sewers regularly overflow in bad weather. They are extremely old and have been in place for many years. Constituents report manhole surcharging and foul water escaping during heavy rain. This is completely unacceptable in a growing area of the county. These problems point to networks under significant strain. Will the Minister of State clarify what upgrades are planned, the expected timelines and how Uisce Éireann will ensure that south Dublin's wastewater system is resilient enough to cope with growth and with more frequent extreme weather conditions?

The State is making an unprecedented investment in water and wastewater services. The ambition is there, but front-line engagement, responsiveness and local network performance must keep pace. The constituency in which I live and every constituency around the country needs a system that works, communicates effectively and delivers the capacity required for new homes and for environmental protection.

PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State very much for his presence here today for this discussion on the very important topic of water quality and Uisce Éireann. It is critically important to point out that all national water quality sampling and publications in the past three years, particularly in 2025, have shown that we are moving in the right direction and that water quality is on the up nationally. However, these improvements are largely attributable to improvements in the efficiency of the use of agricultural nitrates and phosphorous, along with general improvements in the containment of agricultural pollutants.

When it comes to wastewater facilities in our villages, rural towns, larger provincial towns and cities, we have a long way to go to get to where we urgently need to be. Nowhere is this more evident than in my area of south County Galway. There are 14 towns and villages in the south Galway local electoral area. Of these, only two, Gort and Kinvara, are serviced by municipal wastewater treatment facilities. I have recently been informed that the treatment plant in Gort is operating at capacity, which will have a serious knock-on effect in the context of the development of the town.

The next two largest settlements in this district are Craughwell and Clarinbridge. Both villages remain unserviced by municipal wastewater treatment plants despite their rapid growth during the first decade of this century. The Dunkellin river runs through Craughwell village. This river was once renowned for its salmon stocks and its large average sea trout sizes but, unfortunately, many parts of the river are now better known for the smell that comes from them during the summer months. Clarinbridge is a coastal village where the Clarin river enters Galway Bay at the world famous St. George's oyster beds. This village is equally desperately in need of wastewater treatment. Over two years ago, the two villages I have just spoken of, Craughwell and Clarinbridge, were selected for inclusion among 11 pilot project schemes for municipal wastewater treatment plants nationally. A combined figure of over €20 million was allocated for the development of plants in these two villages. More than two years on, we have seen absolutely no progress. Here we have what I believe to be an example of funds being made available to Uisce Éireann only for its ability to deliver to be found wanting.

The east Galway main drainage scheme, an extensive plan that would serve Oranmore, Athenry, Claregalway and Kilcolgan along with Craughwell and Clarinbridge, which I have just spoken about, is greatly supported by our local authority, Galway County Council. However, this plan, whose delivery is listed among Uisce Éireann's aims, continues to remain nothing more than an aspiration.

I have just spoken about four of the 14 settlements in my local area. The remaining ten villages, which include my village of Ardrahan, remain unserviced and without any hope of being serviced in the short to medium term.

I compliment the Minister of State on the plans that he and the Minister, Deputy Browne, brought to Cabinet last week for developer-led package plant solutions for these small unserviced towns and villages. As he will know, this is something I have long advocated for. I believe it is the only workable solution for the hundreds of small unserviced villages around Ireland. However, this solution must be financially viable. If, in order to meet EPA guidelines, Uisce Éireann specifies massively expensive wastewater treatment plants, rendering housing developments financially unviable to construct, we will have achieved nothing. If this solution is to work and achieve its goal, the cost to the developer of providing on-site wastewater infrastructure must be capped at a set national price per unit delivered. We must remember that the need for the developer to provide this infrastructure in the first place comes from the State's failure to do so. As such, where homes are being delivered through these means in these villages, where they are so badly needed, no cost greater than the average Uisce Éireann residential wastewater connection fee should apply to the cost of developing these rural housing units. Of course, in many cases, this will require subsidisation but, without it, this admirable legislation will not achieve its goal.

I commend the Minister of State on the work he has been doing to date along with the other Ministers in the Department of housing. I wish him well in the future.

Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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I am sharing time with Senator Collins. I will speak about two different matters. The first relates to flood defences for water, particularly in my county of Laois, which has been left behind. With Storm Claudia last week, we saw flooding seriously affecting businesses and homes. This is a recurring problem for Mountmellick and Portarlington. OPW projects and planning are moving at a dangerously slow pace. Every time we have a storm, homes and businesses are put at risk. We really have to look at the systems and at fast-tracking these projects. We were told that there was a one-in-100 chance of a storm having such a detrimental effect again. However, only a couple of years later, it has happened again. Rivers were overflowing into people's homes and people were left with homes and business premises that are not fit for purpose.

Water is a fundamental right. It is essential for public health, our communities, local development and our environment. This is why Sinn Féin has been absolutely clear that water services must remain in public ownership and be funded through general taxation, protected from charges and safeguarded as a public good in our Constitution. However, the frustrating and shameful reality is that the infrastructure delivering those services is failing. The system is under enormous pressure. Even Uisce Éireann's chair, Jerry Grant, recently described our water systems as being in a desperate state. This is the result of decades of complacency and underinvestment. This is why it has become an issue up and down the country. We see the effects of that in my county of Laois. Laois is a growing county and yet not a single town there has seen an increase in water supply or capacity since Irish Water was established 11 years ago. I would love it if the Minister of State would comment on that. As a result of that to which I refer, Rathdowney, Portarlington, Mountrath, Ballylynan and Stradbally have reached or exceeded their water capacity. Mountmellick and Graiguecullen are at the limit of wastewater capacity. Borris-in-Ossory, Ballinakill and the Swan have hit their limits for both water and wastewater services.This means new housing is being blocked not by planning objections or lack of land but by the State's failure to invest in basic infrastructure. Communities are being told they cannot grow because the taps and treatment plants cannot cope. That is simply unacceptable.

Counties like Laois must not be left behind when it comes to basic infrastructure like water that will enable us to address the housing crisis. I acknowledge and welcome the planning application put in a few months ago for the upgrade of the Portlaoise wastewater treatment plant, but it is only an application. There is much talk and have been many announcements about plans to upgrade services and bring in new services, but we do not see action. For the people in all the towns I mentioned, announcements of plans and planning applications are one thing but until action is taken, those words do not mean anything to them. Children and families are homeless in communities and people are having to leave because they cannot build or buy a house in their local area.

We must start delivering these services as a matter of real urgency. Housing demand in Laois is unprecedented right now. It is indefensible that delivery of homes continues to be delayed because the State did not expand the water infrastructure in time, especially as we all know how bad the housing crisis is and that it is set to continue for many years. Outside the towns, rural communities face their own crisis, with inadequate or non-existent wastewater treatment stalling construction of one-off homes and impacting communities and enterprises. These areas must not be left behind. I call for more balanced regional development.

Despite Irish Water making clear that it needs additional capital funding, the Government has dragged its feet. Announcements are made but delivery is years behind. When representatives of Uisce Éireann were before the housing committee, they made it clear that if we want to deliver homes, support rural Ireland and protect public health, investment in water and wastewater must be approached as critical national infrastructure just like roads, schools and hospitals. We need more urgency in this matter.

Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State. I have spoken a lot in the House about the lack of water in county towns. It sounds awful but it gives me some relief to hear it is not just County Limerick that has this issue. In the only county town or tier 2 town in Limerick, Newcastle West, houses have stopped being built. A development had to be stopped and the doors closed to people because it could not be connected up to the system. It will be 2031 before the wastewater treatment system can take another connection. That is six years until another house can be built in the county town of Limerick. It is absolutely crazy.

I am delighted to hear in the latest report about the money going into Irish Water. That will be amazing but I plead with the Minister of State not to let the €12.2 billion go just to Dublin and the east coast. We need it in Limerick, Cork and Galway on the west coast. We also need it in Laois. Senator McCormack stated that nearly every town in that county as being at capacity. It is the same in every county. We need that money to be distributed equally and on a priority basis. It is unfathomable that we have a Department that is supposed to look after water but which is not doing so and not ensuring it gets to where it needs to needs to go.

There are areas in this country where people cannot connect to water and must drill their own well. There are no connections and no group water schemes. Drilling a well will cost between €7,000 and €10,000, depending on how deep it is necessary to go. There is no grant system for that. However, if a millionaire living a couple of miles away on a street where there is water wants to put in his or her own well, if the house is not a new build, there is a grant for that person. It would be nice to see a grant available for new construction for people living in areas where there is no water connection.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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I apologise to the Minister of State for not being here at the start. I was availing of the heart screening service, and it was confirmed that I do, in fact, have a heart.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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We knew that.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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This is a really welcome opportunity to discuss Irish Water and water services in general. I commend the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy James Browne, on the work they have started and the announcement they made this day last week. I am from a very rural constituency where the largest town has 11, 000 people and it is otherwise all villages. The announcement last week of the wastewater treatment plan is really welcome. I agree with my colleague Senator P.J. Murphy that what we really need is consistent design and a consistent acceptance of that design and of the plan by all the local authorities. None of them should be able to get off the hook by saying something is not up to specification. To be fair to Irish Water, when it does something, it does it very well. It should be part of the design process and there must be circulars to local authorities advising them that they must take particular designs on board. The builder who signs up to build 20 or 30 houses needs to know the design standards that must be met.

In a village further down the county from me, Abbeyknockmoy, there are four different sites. We could put in the guts of 160 houses there and we could go up then to Monivea in the same parish and put in another 40. That would be 200 houses built in a parish in rural Ireland. If we have the standards, if the local authorities understand what they are and if builders know what they have to build, there will be delivery in local areas. I compliment the Minister of State. He represents a rural area and knows what is required. I know he and the Minister are doing what is expected, which is to ignite rural communities.

As I said, when Irish Water delivers, it does so very well, but, unfortunately, it cannot do it at the scale and speed required. The investment of €12.8 million it put into Athenry just over a year ago has had a phenomenal impact. However, extra capacity was not provided. Enough was put in to address what was there but not enough to allow for extra hundreds of houses. That did not happen. If I am being critical, the shortfall is that Irish Water does not go beyond current need and forecast into the future. However, it reaches gold standard in what it actually does.

A number of years ago, the then Minister for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, made an announcement regarding Clarinbridge, Craughwell and many other parishes around the country whereby local authorities were to submit their ambition and direction of travel and identify areas where they saw opportunities for growth and development. Clarinbridge and Craughwell were two of the locations identified. Unfortunately, we are still at the site selection stage. The reason we have not really moved beyond that is that the local authority, which is local to me, Senator P.J. Murphy and the Leader, does not have enough funding. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge that and I know the Minister of State is aware of it. After getting the money, the council now has to come up with another €3 million to enable the works. It is saying it does not have that money. I have no doubt there is a bit of Chinese whispers going on but, in any case, it is not happening. Craughwell could be a very fast-growing town. It is in that centre space between Athenry, Loughrea and Clarinbridge and it could grow if it were enabled to do so. Whatever can be done with previous funding and commitments, where local authorities cannot progress projects due to whatever letter came from Irish Water last June, I ask the Minister of State to look into it and to ensure progress is made. To ensure stability and the regeneration of our towns and villages, in the context of the investment that was made last week, if pressure and pace is put behind it and if we deal with the standardisation, it will be both transformative and a fantastic legacy for the Minister of State to leave.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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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.

Noel O'Donovan (Fine Gael)
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While I support all my colleagues from the Galway area, it is no harm to move the conversation southwards to the rebel county. Like other speakers, there has been some repetition in the praise of the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Browne, for bringing proposals to the Cabinet recently, which they are implementing. In my time in this Chamber, the proposal for private developer-led wastewater infrastructure is one of the most common-sense pragmatic solutions I have seen. I genuinely compliment the Minister of State's work on that. It is going to be a game changer. I welcome the fact that there is going to be a buy-in between the local authorities and the EPA in the construction of these plants to ensure they are taken in charge when they are completed. We have to learn the lessons from the past in that regard. That is also a pragmatic approach. When we announced the news that we would develop these plants going forward, I received a number of calls from residents living in estates with plants that have not been taking in charge. It is a timely reminder of that.

I share some of the views expressed by Senator Rabbitte on ensuring local authorities have the same vision and plan. It is critical that there is a common design, with one circular going to local authorities. I have mentioned to the Minister of State in the past that we have an issue in Dunmanway in west Cork with the plant. We now have possibilities, with the development of these private developer-led plants. The planning authority is unwilling to engage with developers with single applicants that are wanting to build at this stage. That is where we need to take local authorities to task in terms of now engaging as well. Let us be straight about this: there is a breakdown between Uisce Éireann and certain local authorities. Politicians, the Government and others across the board are getting the blame for that. We need to see change there.

I wish to raise a number of other wastewater infrastructure issues across west Cork because these are the issues we are hearing. In Shannonvale, we have historic issues. In Rosscarbery, the town where I live, and Ballydehob we have septic tanks and glorified septic tanks that release into the sea and cause Armageddon-type scenarios during the summer months along much of our coastline. It is important that we do not forget about the plants that need upgrading. The emphasis is on increasing the number of houses and the number of areas where we can build, but we cannot lose sight of areas where there are clear pollution issues as well.

To Senator Kyne's point, we are investing all this money, over €12 billion, in Uisce Éireann but we need to see the plan. We need clear communication on where this money is being invested. I recall in my time on Cork County Council that once a quarter, the council would present to the western division meeting a clear list of the projects it was engaged in and give updates on where those plants were. Sometimes there were no updates or a minor update, but we knew those projects were on a list somewhere and there was an update given. Today, as public representatives - councillors, Senators, TDs and Ministers - we have to write to a Minister's office or pick up the phone and go through an Oireachtas line to Uisce Éireann. There is no single place where we can get timely and updated information on where these plants are. For the Government, the State and taxpayers, having invested this money, it would be beneficial if Uisce Éireann improved its communication. We are in 2025. There should be a website where we can log on and see where the upgrade is on this.

Last Friday night, I and more than 100 people who cannot get access to reliable, quality water attended a meeting in Ardigole on the Beara Peninsula. There are schools, family resource centres and people with disabilities being affected by breaks in mains. We need improved communication. We need to make sure that this delivery of funding reaches our communities.

Again, I thank the Minister of State for his work. It is so vitally important.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank those who have contributed to this discussion on water quality and the performance of Uisce Éireann. I assure the Senators that their comments will be fed back to Uisce Éireann. Some of the concerns and issues they have raised, collectively and individually, are ones that we share. A number of Senators raised matters related to developer provided infrastructure and the importance of that in facilitating the development of smaller settlement areas across the country that either do not have capacity or do not have capacity in existing plants. That is why we brought that measure forward. It can involve a combination of nature-based solutions and mechanical solutions.The Senators are all correct. It will be done to a set standard and criteria. It is expected that it will be in place by the end of February next year, that everyone will know the rules of engagement and that, on completion of those, they will be taken in charge and managed by Uisce Éireann because of course we must learn from the mistakes of the past. A lot of infrastructure was put in at a particular time in this country and while a lot of it was not necessarily substandard, it was not managed and maintained, which was a significant flaw in the system. We must ensure that is not the case going forward when we facilitate this.

Uisce Éireann will facilitate self-lay for developers, which I know was raised as part of the discrepancy in pricing.

On unacceptable timeframes, I covered that in my opening remarks when I said that a timeline is not an option but, rather, essential. Both the Minister, Deputy Browne, and I have been very clear with Uisce Éireann that, in terms of pre-connection and connection agreements, its performance needs to improve in this space. The programme for Government contains a reference to statutory decision-making timelines and they will be implemented, as required. I would prefer, as per our discussions and notwithstanding the fact that there are significantly more connections year in and year out, Uisce Éireann needs to ensure that issues are addressed in a timely manner and communications are improved.

More generally, I want to reflect on the progress made since Uisce Éireann was established ten years ago. It is important to put on the record of the House that in a decade thousands of kilometres of new or rehabilitated water mains have been installed, the national leakage rate has been reduced and the overall quality of drinking water remains very high. Further, as noted earlier, Uisce Éireann has seen considerable improvements in water quality, including the decline in the impact of urban wastewater. There is more work to do. The sustained and increasing funding and support that is provided by Government will enable Uisce Éireann to make continued progress in the years to come as well as progress overall on protecting rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

Reference was made to money. The Government is investing record sums of money in Uisce Éireann and we need to see delivery when taxpayers' money is provided to it. Of particular note is the important role that water infrastructure will play in meeting our ambitious housing targets, as highlighted by a number of Senators here today. It is important to remember the scale of the work. Every day Uisce Éireann treats approximately 1.7 billion litres of water and 1.26 billion litres of wastewater. Uisce Éireann also manages the source of our water, with more than 1,100 abstractions and more than 1,500 reservoirs connected to tens of thousands of kilometres of pipes. Every single day millions of households and businesses are supplied with good quality water and wastewater services, with thousands of treatment plants running around the clock. I do take the points raised by Senator Kyne about the generation and back-up capacity, which obviously must be in place to ensure that we do not experience outages at times of extreme weather events.

Under the water services and water quality sector investment plan for the NDP, Uisce Éireann has a number of key capital programmes to deliver improvements across all of these responsibilities. They include: leakage reduction; accelerating housing delivery; enabling new connections; and of course building new infrastructure, including major new treatment plants.

It is important to note that we are dealing with a legacy issue of underinvestment in water services and infrastructure in Ireland. I do acknowledge that. The scale and level of remedial works necessary in order to ensure that we have a fit-for-purpose system for the 21st century will take time to resolve. The Government recognises these challenges and that is why we are investing €12.2 billion in water services under the current NDP.

In tandem with our investment in the national water infrastructure, which is managed by Uisce Éireann, the broader funding under the NDP will play a huge role in supporting rural communities. Investment has been set aside for rural water infrastructure, underpinning the provision of safe and secure water services to rural areas that do not have access to Uisce Éireann services.

Of course the main focus of this record-breaking funding is on expanding and strengthening water services nationally. A sum of €2.5 billion has been set aside for generational projects like the water supply project for the eastern and midlands region and the greater Dublin drainage project. It is regrettable that we have a further judicial review of the latter much-needed project. These projects, alongside our broader investment under the NDP, will secure our water supply and wastewater services for the growing population and future generations.

Beyond the two major projects, new water infrastructure is being progressed in every part of the country to support reaching the new housing targets and strengthen existing supplies. Among the significant Uisce Éireann projects to be progressed in 2026 are the Limerick wastewater treatment plant upgrade, the Waterford city wastewater treatment plant upgrade and the Ballymore Eustace to Saggart resilience project. That list is not exhaustive. In tandem with these major investment projects - water infrastructure by Uisce Éireann - the NDP funding will also help to protect our environment and water quality, which I referenced in my opening statement. What is needed is a pragmatic approach that will reflect the scale of the effort to address our water quality and the many pressures that we have impacting on it. The funding allocated under the NDP will improve infrastructure alongside targeted measures to improve water quality and will make sure that we continue to make progress towards achieving our goals.

My Department is also beginning the process of developing our fourth river basin management plan, for 2028 to 2033. As I said in my opening contribution, the significant efforts being made by all stakeholders, particularly the agriculture sector, to reduce nitrates and phosphorous levels, particularly in intensive agricultural areas, are having an impact. We obviously need to see that continuing.

In conclusion, I reiterate my thanks to all of the staff who work in Uisce Éireann, the local authority sector and all of the State agencies that play a role in ensuring we have good quality water and wastewater infrastructure in this country, and ensuring that we will continue to improve water quality in Ireland because that has a positive impact on social and economic dividends going forward.