I raise the issue of funding for Irish Water projects which are administered in our county of Kerry. I will give some examples. We have a water main in Farranfore that keeps breaking. It causes awful trouble because it is on a main artery road through our county. From there up to Ash-hill and Farmers Bridge, everything needs upgrading and replacing. An upgrade is also needed to the water scheme at Moyvane and Knockanure. The Kenmare sewerage scheme needs an extension. In the great town of Kenmare, for example, it is not possible to get planning permission for a henhouse, simply because we are being told that until the sewer is extended, it will not be possible to have any more planning permission granted. The sewerage scheme at Kilcummin has been well raised here over many years, and at the same time we are no nearer to having a scheme put in place. I refer to the need for the replacement of the mains from Daly's roundabout in Killarney up to Ballyspillane estate, because the road there is like one in Beirut from water breaks. It would surely be more cost effective to replace the pipework rather than to continuously repair the road. On the way from Glenflesk to Knockanes, a section of piping needs to be replaced, and there is also 6 km stretch which needs replacing in Callanafersy. A part of the work has been done at Lauragh, but from there down to the church there is 2 km of pipework to be replaced. The infrastructure of the whole of the mid-Kerry region has constant breakages in this regard, and there is a section on the Office of Public Works, OPW, road in Beaufort where a part of the work has been done, and excellent work it is, but there is much more work to do.

I also highlight one example of an emergency issue which was raised by a local councillor in the Castleisland area, Jackie Healy-Rae, following on from a meeting between councillors and representatives of Irish Water. One housing estate in Kerry, Desmonds Avenue in Castleisland, is served by a cast-iron main which burst in mid-September. Ever since, there have been water quality issues. When tests were carried out on 9 October, ten of the houses recorded iron levels in the water of 1,319 mg/l. Under the drinking water regulations, the limit for iron content in water is 200 mg/l. There is a serious issue here, an emergency situation, and that is down to the cast-iron pipe which is serving that estate and that needs to be replaced. Irish Water's response to Councillor Healy-Rae was that it had no money and will not have any money until 2021. That is not good enough. This is an example of the investment that we need in County Kerry. We desperately need this money. I compliment our excellent staff working for Irish Water, through Kerry County Council, past and present. They have done excellent work. We must remember that these are the people who go out on Christmas Day and late at night in all types of weather to keep the water flowing in our county.

I thank the Deputy for raising these issues, but I did not get the name of that estate.

It is Desmonds Avenue.

To be frank, if that is a health risk, and from the data, the Deputy is suggesting that it is a health risk, there should be no excuse for not sorting that out. We are conscious of the need for Irish Water to get additional capital, and, to be fair, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, gave additional funding to Irish Water in the July stimulus package and in the budget. Something like this issue should be dealt with. I know there are many challenges, and Irish Water has many challenges, but something that represents a clear health risk should be dealt with. We are also committed to further investment in Irish Water more generally.

A huge scale of work is necessary in our water system and it will take several years and investment cycles to resolve the situation fully. Regarding our capital investment plans for drinking water, and for water infrastructure more generally, strong multi-annual allocations are being directed to Irish Water. A funding package of about €8.5 billion was committed in Project Ireland 2040. As part of budget 2021, the Government increased provision for Irish Water's capital investment programme by €100 million, over and above last year's initial allocation, to €692 million. We also provided €87 million as part of the July stimulus package.

I will check for the Deputy what allocation from that €87 million in July found its way to Kerry. I will also follow through with the cases raised by the Deputy and will forward those to Irish Water.

We understand the centrality of Irish Water and water infrastructure to the development of towns, to the facilitation of house construction and to the facilitation of industry. We are determined to give it a higher prioritisation in capital allocation because it represents a key part of our capacity to deliver housing and development in the regions. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, will bring a policy paper to Government in the coming weeks to set out a route map to achieving this ambition.

I thank the Taoiseach very much for that reply. On sewerage schemes, Irish Water seems to want to work in areas where infrastructure is already in place. Unfortunately, there are areas in County Kerry that have no schemes whatsoever, which is hard to believe. Places such as Caherdaniel, Scartaglin and Currow have no schemes at all. How are these areas supposed to develop? How are they supposed to grow? How are we supposed to cater for the future needs of young people who want to live and work in those areas? Planners and national policy always seem to say to people we would rather people live in the village than be looking for planning in the countryside. I have always made the argument that people should be allowed and encouraged to live in the countryside. National policy seems to want to put people into towns and villages, while at the same time people in places such as Caherdaniel, Scartaglin and Currow have no scheme whatsoever. That is ridiculous. We have to ensure that works and funding are put in place.

I want to highlight the holy show of how the work is actually carried out. I declare what could be perceived as a conflict of interest in this, but when it comes to work with the council we have recently heard that it has sought to tender all the work for Irish Water in counties to one individual. That is wrong. We should be keeping in place the smaller contractors in their own areas who have worked diligently along with council staff for many years in providing an excellent service day or night. Again, I thank the people who work for Kerry County Council and I compliment them for their efforts seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

I thank the Deputy for his remarks. Generally it is the policy to try to have as much development in towns and villages as we possibly can. Part of the reason is the high cost of infrastructure and the disproportionate cost if new schemes are being developed. We have to prioritise. In Deputy Healy-Rae's first contribution he identified a range of schemes that needed investment, such as in Killarney and other towns. They need to get priority in the allocation of capital.

On the urban and waste water, to be fair, the Environmental Protection Agency's recent report demonstrates that Irish Water is making progress and is improving our wastewater systems. Irish Water has reduced the number of priority wastewater sites listed by the EPA and has increased the number of large towns and cities that now meet the required European Union standards for wastewater discharges. The agency itself will say that it has a long and complex programme of work ahead to deliver wastewater services that fully meet the required standards. To be fair all around there is an historical large agenda of work and progress has been made. Significant capital moneys will be allocated. It is about getting on with the work and getting it done.