Cork infrastructure and sewage
Deputy Burke argued that Cork's development is being constrained by wastewater infrastructure delays and asked whether Irish Water could work with private enterprise. The Minister said Irish Water must decide on funding and timing, noted major progress in Cork, and stressed that infrastructure must come ahead of housing.
One of the big issues we need to deal with is the development of infrastructure, particularly around our villages and small towns. One of my concerns relating to the Cork area is that Cork County Council is being asked to dezone land in certain areas. Irish Water is now dictating the future development of the county in that it is not going to develop sewage treatment facilities in certain towns and villages. How do we fast-track the tackling of this issue? Can Irish Water engage with private enterprise on developing the necessary infrastructure? I am dealing with a situation where a State agency, namely, Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, objected to the building of a new school. I estimate this objection, which has now been dealt with by An Bord Pleanála, added approximately €2.5 million to the cost of building that school in real terms because of the delays that have occurred. This is not the way for a State agency to deal with matters. Instead of dealing with the Department of Education, IFI should have been engaging with Irish Water about the development of sewage treatment facilities.
Comment on this
Irish Water is best placed to decide on the allocation of funding and the timelines for its projects. I am very glad we have stopped pumping raw sewage into Cork Harbour, which was a huge problem. That had to be the first priority in the city. It was an immediate scandal that had to be addressed. Beyond that, sewage treatment is a real issue. Irish Water got significant additional funding in the national development plan.
In terms of the housing crisis we must get our transport and water infrastructure in place in advance of the housing. Transport and infrastructure-led development is the way we need to go. If there are housing solutions involved, I would have thought that would be high up on Irish Water's priority list.
On the issue of Inland Fisheries Ireland, we have a serious issue with water quality in this country. Within living memory, over the space of 40 years, this country has gone from having 500 pristine river systems down to 20. We have to stop that. We cannot be out trading as an Origin Green country when our water is polluted. The fisheries boards are critical in terms of providing warning signals that our water quality is not right.