I raise the issue of our wastewater infrastructure, or rather the lack thereof. I agree with the mantra the Government repeats that we cannot use this surplus to invest in current expenditure because we cannot rely on that money, it might run out, and we will then require cutbacks. However, what we can do is to invest that money in necessary infrastructure.

I want to focus on County Clare, in particular, because that is the county I know best, but it is the same as every other county in the country. It is, in particular, the same as every other coastal county in the country. This year, there is a new scheme, which I welcome. It is going to cost €6 million to put in sewerage infrastructure for the first time in settlements without sewers. Irish Water states that if there is no sewer in an area, no matter how bad the situation is, it is not its problem. The county councils states that they no longer have a water infrastructure remit so it not their problem. It is nobody's problem, but it is a problem for all of us if we are pumping raw sewage into our rivers and streams, and into the sea. That is what we are doing all over this State at the moment, as we run a surplus and do nothing with it.

I recently asked a couple of questions that were ruled out of order because the Minister has no responsibility to answer questions in the Dáil about Irish Water. I ask for the Government's co-operation to fix that. It is a matter of concern for us all because we are paying for Irish Water. The Exchequer pays for Irish Water and the Dáil is supposed to supervise it. More fundamentally, I ask the Government to properly address this lack of infrastructure.

Irish Water pleaded guilty to five of 13 charges with regard to the Miltown Malbay plant in November 2022. I asked what the plant was doing about it. It is going to carry out an assessment. Spanish Point is nearby. It is an important settlement with no wastewater infrastructure whatsoever. A third settlement at Seafield, Quilty is beside Spanish Point. The wastewater treatment plant there is operating at only 51% capacity. I asked if an assessment had been carried out as to whether sewage could be brought from Spanish Point, which is an important settlement. The Taoiseach may even have visited it; lots of people have. It is a lovely place to visit, except for the fact the sewage is probably flowing untreated into the sea.

The same is true of Carrigaholt, which is beside a special area of conservation, SAC, as is Spanish Point. Doolin is another beautiful settlement with the same problem. If we are not going to solve that problem now when we have an enormous surplus, when are we going to do so? Are we saying this is optional expenditure and we will wait until we have spent a couple of million euro in the European Court of Justice and be forced to do it? Are we actually going to stop shitting in our rivers in this State in 2023?

I am delighted to have the chance, once again, to clarify things or to repeat what I have said before. I have never said we cannot use some of the surplus to increase spending on infrastructure. In fact, I have said the opposite. We can use some of the surplus to increase spending on public infrastructure and that is exactly what we intend to do. I did not catch the interview but I think the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, said much the same thing on "Prime Time" the other night. The Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, has also said so. We are examining the national development plan, NDP, ceilings and will use some of the surplus to increase spending on infrastructure.

I need to be frank with the Deputy when I say it is not as simple as increasing the budget for a Government agency or semi-State body. There are also other constraints. Many public bodies are unable to spend the capital budgets we assign to them, not because they do not care, are not working hard or are somehow not competent, but because there are other constraints. Sometimes the constraint is finding skilled staff. Sometimes there are issues around materials, such as the availability of steel, concrete or timber. Sometimes there are planning issues and sometimes there are legal challenges. We are in a very different position than we were when I was first appointed to Government 12 years ago. We are often unable to spend the capital budgets that are assigned to Government Departments and agencies because of constraints that are nothing to do with finance or the competency of the people involved. It is the result of the other factors I have mentioned.

On the particular matter raised by the Deputy in respect of Miltown Malbay, Spanish Point and Seafield, I am told that Uisce Éireann is working on the issues raised in the prosecution and is currently carrying out a strategic assessment of the site, to include all of the feasible options to resolve the wastewater needs of the area. A project to upgrade the plant will be progressed once this has been completed and the Government is providing Uisce Éireann with sustained investment. Uisce Éireann is using this investment to improve services and remedy the fragility that is apparent in some parts of our wastewater services network. Uisce Éireann manages all aspects of the water and wastewater services planning and is responsible for the planning, delivery and operation of all public treatment plants. The Government is eager to see faster progress on these projects wherever possible and the budget provided to Uisce Éireann this year is €1.56 billion, which is not a small amount of money. That amount will be higher again next year.

I welcome what the Taoiseach has been told. However, Clare County Council has been told something entirely different. It has been told that Uisce Éireann is not looking at Spanish Point at all. It is not interested in including Spanish Point in an upgrade, nor is it interested in seeing whether Spanish Point could be catered for at Seafield or if all three of those areas, including Miltown Malbay, could be catered for at Seafield. Uisce Éireann is not interested in Spanish Point because it is not sewered. As it is not sewered, Uisce Éireann has stated it is not its problem. Clare County Council has stated it is not its problem either. The same is true of Carrigaholt.

It was a wonderful little town. I suppose it is now a village. There is huge scope for sustainable development but it cannot develop without a sewer. Spanish Point has developed but it is at its limits now because there is no sewer. Doolin is the same story - no sewer.

I do not know what Irish Water is saying to the Taoiseach but, to me and to everybody else, it is saying that it is not its problem. Clare County Council is saying that it is not its problem. We have a bureaucratic issue. On top of the problems that the Taoiseach has outlined, we have created this scenario where it is nobody's problem but yet it is the State's problem. The State can and, I say, will be held accountable in international courts, and we will waste a lot of money defending actions instead of solving the problem.

It is the State's problem and the State has a role to play in resolving it. I agree with the Deputy on that.

I am advised that Spanish Point is regarded as unsewered and relies on private individual systems, such as septic tanks, as there is no public wastewater treatment plant or public sewerage present.

Last year, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, announced the commencement of a new funding scheme targeting the wastewater collection and treatment needs of villages and settlements without public wastewater access, such as Spanish Point. That is something that I strongly support because any settlement should have decent wastewater facilities and should be able to have some level of natural expansion in terms of new housing and population, even if it is very small. I am told it is open to these areas to bid to be included in this programme or otherwise to receive funding for the provision of wastewater infrastructure, and Uisce Éireann will work with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and local authorities to support the development and implementation of an appropriate solution.