On the programme for Government’s investment in social, regional and economic infrastructure, last year more than 100,000 people in Drogheda, south Louth and east Meath were left without water for eight days and forced to wait on water tankers coming from as far away as Kilkenny and Thurles. Following that, in September, Irish Water announced it had signed the contract to upgrade and replace the pipe which caused the problem. It even went so far as to say work would begin before the end of last year. It never delivered on this, however. That same pipe burst again last night. Once again, the people affected will be without water and do not know for how long.

Despite the mayhem that Irish Water created last year and all that people endured, the company could not even be bothered to prioritise that work. Irish Water needs to get its act together and needs to be instructed to get its act together. Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is coming in as many weeks.

Thank you, Deputy. We are out of time now.

The people of Louth, east Meath and Drogheda need to be assured. We have had enough of this chaos. We need to know this is the last time it will happen.

I thank the Deputy for the question. Irish Water did not cause the mayhem last year, but the company did resolve and fix it.

I met the control group this morning. I was notified of this incident almost immediately it happened. Irish Water staff have been working through the night. They have now gotten down to the leak. It is 4 m down in the ground and 20 m from the location where the leak occurred previously. Thankfully, because of how Irish Water reacted last year, the company ordered a second piece of replacement pipe. Irish Water staff are now hoping to install it to help bring water back as quickly as possible.

Tankers have been deployed. The Army has been notified about the need to deploy additional tankers. We are aware of two festivals coming up that will need to be prioritised for water. At the moment, the priority is for the hospital and other areas. We want to ensure that those who will be without water are without it for as short a period as possible.

The replacement pipe is part of a longer term project that will be completed by the end of the year.

We heard that last year.

The Deputy did not hear that last year. That is not true. That is not what she heard last year.

It is.

The Deputy is misleading the Dáil to say that, because that is not what she heard last year. I was at those meetings. It is not what Deputy Munster heard.

The piece of replacement pipe is here. We will be ready to go with it in the coming weeks. It will take a number of months to fully replace the piece of pipe. We are talking about a very old and large piece of concrete asbestos pipe at a high-pressure point at the bottom of a hill. It needs to be replaced and it is priority work.

The Minister and Irish Water have had a year to do it.

It takes a year. We are talking about several metres in length and a pipe of significant size. The work started with the planning. It needs architectural permission as well because of where it is.

Deputy Munster, please.

I call on Deputy Munster not to try to minimise the significance of what is trying to be achieved here by Irish Water. The company will put in a significant replacement for this piece of pipe through the course of this year. However, until then Irish Water staff are working every hour of the day to get this particular break fixed. I will be updating the House later this evening on the matter.