Irish Water pollution priorities
Deputy Ó Murchú raises raw sewage discharges and delays in dealing with EPA pollution priorities. The Tánaiste points to increased capital spending for Irish Water in the 2021 budget.
I thank the Tánaiste for his clarity in stating that there will not be a ban on cross-Border travel.
The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has stated that the outlook for the environment in Ireland is not good unless all sectors are addressed. I would like to discuss Irish Water. There are 113 priorities for dealing with pollution. Raw sewage is being pumped into the water in 35 towns and villages, including Omeath. There are no plans to deal with 33 of these until after next year. This is not on. What interaction will the Government have with Irish Water to deal with this?
Comment on this
We appreciate that there is a lot of work to do in the next few years to improve our water quality. It has improved a lot in recent years, but big investment by Irish Water is required to make it better. The budget for 2021 includes increased capital spending and a bigger capital budget for Irish Water, which will allow the company to make some real improvements throughout the country.