At this stage the Government seems to have floundered from one fiasco to the next with Irish Water. There seems to be no end to it and the hole seems to be getting deeper. The Taoiseach told us yesterday that he was not going to put up with under-investment in water, but the Government has been doing that for three and a half years because it has not been investing for the past three and a half years.

The problems remain. The Government has not fixed any of the leaking pipes. We still have sewage going into the sea. In Wexford there were 11 village projects ready to go. They had been approved and were simply waiting for funding from central government. Irish Water came along and put them on hold. They have gone right back to the preamble stage. We have raw sewage going into the sea in Wexford from Duncannon, Arthurstown, Ballyhack and Kilmore Quay. We have secondary treatment going in from big towns like Gorey and Courtown. Irish Water has delayed all of this.

The Taoiseach will remember very well back in the late 1980s the rod licence dispute. It shook the nation at the time. People felt that a freedom was being taken from them, even if it was only a £5 fee to fish in public lakes. It captured the nation at the time and there was a huge feeling about it. It reached the stage where it was either the case that the Government was going to fall over it or it had to abolish it. Irish Water has reached the same stage. The cat is out of the bag and putting it back in is not going to be easy.

There are too many cats.

At this stage the Taoiseach seems to have an alternative. Will the Taoiseach abolish Irish Water? The Taoiseach should do himself and the people a favour by abolishing it. Otherwise, as an alternative, will the Taoiseach go to the country and ask the people for a choice on the matter, abolish the Government now and call an election?

The answer to both of those questions is "No". I assume Deputy Wallace wants to see a situation where Duncannon and the other areas in Wexford do not have raw sewage being pumped into the sea. I understand that only in the past two days there has been confirmation by Irish Water of a number of schemes in Wexford now going ahead. That is as it should be.

It is very important that the contributions that come for domestic water use to Irish Water are spent on investing in infrastructure by Irish Water. We must have a situation whereby the entity which is charged with fixing this infrastructure and investing for the future can demonstrate that the contributions made to it are spent entirely on investing and fixing inadequate infrastructure.

Of course I recall the difficulties with the rod licence which consumed the country for quite some time and the issues about ownership of the waters and lakes of Ireland, particularly those in the west.

Was the Taoiseach fishing them?

Only our rivers are free.

However, Deputy Wallace will be aware that the situation that applied with 34 different entities dealing with planning, design, approval, tender, contract, fit-out and build throughout the country led to a different standard being applied in different places. That is why the Environmental Protection Agency, which I am sure Deputy Wallace supports, issued a comment yesterday. I note the agency said that a national standard is fundamental and that the setting up of Irish Water will bring that about.

Irish Water representatives have a very good story to tell that they have not been telling.

What are they going to say to us?

They should be outlining the timescale and the programme of projects in each individual area throughout the country so people will see and know that the investment is on its way to fix the particular problems that they have. Yesterday, I spoke about the many houses that have lead service pipes going into them. We cannot continue with that but we cannot deal with it unless we have an entity that can borrow off the Government balance sheet and invest in these kinds of projects. If Deputy Wallace is talking to a parent or householder who lives in one of those houses, he needs to be able to say to them that Irish Water is investing and outline the timescale, whether for Duncannon or any other place in the country. This has gone on for too long.

Part of the remit given to this Government was to fix our finances and get our country working. In due course the people will have their opportunity to cast their verdict on the work of this Government and on whether it fulfilled its mandate.

They are waiting in the long grass.

That mandate was to fix our public finances and put our country back to work. I remind Deputy Wallace that yesterday the figures for unemployment were down to 11%. We are now the fastest-growing economy in Europe. The sacrifices made by the people are responsible for that because they accepted all the challenges. Now we have a challenge to have a fair and affordable system. That is what the Government has to reflect on arising from the anxieties and concerns that have been expressed.

We have the fastest-growing economy in Europe but we also have the fastest-growing child poverty in Europe. The 11 sewerage projects in Wexford have been ready to go for a long time but central government has not funded them and they are not going to start as soon as the Taoiseach has indicated. Sewage is going into the sea because this Government has tolerated it, the same as the one before it.

There was supposed to be an upgrade in Ringsend. The local authority was told that the site was not big enough to accommodate a new upgrading facility. The long sea outfall project was commissioned and eventually got through planning after six years of work. What is happening now? Irish Water has decided it can build the plant on-site and it need not carry out the long sea outfall project. Why is this? It is because it will cost €100 million. Irish Water is going to do a cheaper version. Irish Water maintains it has new technology and it will magic it up. I would like to see what kind of effect that will have on Sandymount beach and Merrion beach, because that will be a problem.

If Irish Water builds a facility that causes pollution, who will deal with the issue? The local authority will. As I told the Taoiseach two weeks ago, Irish Water is not taking on responsibility for dealing with pollution, flooding or storm water; therefore, dealing with the pollution it causes will be the responsibility of the local authority.

Will the Deputy, please, put his question? We are over time.

Where is the logic in separating flooding, storm water and pollution from the supply of water and waste treatment?

The Deputy has actually made the case for why there must be an entity such as Irish Water. He has said 11 projects in County Wexford are awaiting approval from the Government. That is true.

The Government would not provide the money.

In fact, there are probably far more than 11, if one looks at the list of projects not yet designed. The same applies to every local authority area in the country. There can be hundreds of projects and there have been hundreds for the past 25 or 30 years. Every year there has been a drip, drip effect, as it were, with regard to which scheme will get the go-ahead. The reason is that each local authority and all of the projects in County Wexford which the Deputy mentioned had to compete with schools, hospitals and other public projects funded from the general taxation fund. That is the reason we have never been able to invest properly in fixing the Irish water supply and wastewater treatment system. That is why there is a need for Irish Water to be able to borrow independently and pass the market corporation test of being able to stand on its own feet in terms of resources in order that it can invest independently and undertake the 11 projects in County Wexford and all of the others in every local authority around the country. That is why it is important.

If the Deputy wants the system to remain the way it was and which has brought us to this point where we have grossly inferior infrastructure, I do not share his view.

Will the Taoiseach answer my question?

The reason we must have Irish Water is in order that it can invest for the future for the people of Wexford, Duncannon and everywhere else.

That is not the case.

The Taoiseach did not answer my question.