The previous Government established Irish Water. Since its establishment, the quality of the service has diminished in certain locations. In Athlone, there has been a considerable increase in the frequency of water outages in the past 12 months, quite often without any notification and sometimes with inadequate notification. Are there protocols to ensure adequate notification when scheduled works are to take place and contingency arrangements to assist businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, when there is an emergency outage? Could the Tánaiste revert to me at a later stage on when the planned upgrade of water infrastructure in Athlone will be carried out? Ultimately, this will be the best solution to prevent water outages.

On the same issue, in the south Sligo area there is cryptosporidium in the water. A boil-water notice has been in force for practically 18 months. This is very difficult for businesses and families. Irish Water has applied for planning permission. The application is in the planning process but unfortunately it has to be sanctioned under IROPI legislation. I do not believe this legislation has been enforced in this country before but the application is complete and has been sent to the office of the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Madigan. Will the Tánaiste speak to her to have this matter resolved so the necessary works on the water supply may be carried out immediately?

Irish Water has been asked to upgrade the water network across the country and has been doing so in a very efficient way. It has been investing considerable funds in making our supply safer and to understand what exactly is in it. There used to be 35 local authorities doing their own thing and that resulted in a significant and very dangerous deterioration in water infrastructure across the country. Irish Water has exposed a lot of that ugliness and danger but, in doing so, it has created a lot of inconvenience because once a problem is exposed, it has to be fixed. Irish Water is setting about doing that.

From my experience, while there are some exceptions, Irish Water has been pretty good about notifying not only local businesses but also local public representatives.

If there are issues in Athlone, as there clearly are, I will try to obtain specific answers. With regard to Sligo, I was there recently and this issue was raised with me directly. Reference was made to the length of time for which boil-water notices have been in force and the number of people affected. To be fair, planning delays are as frustrating to Irish Water as to those involved in any other project being developed.