Access to safe, clean water and sanitation is a human right. It is a right that has been compromised for thousands of Cork city households. For the best part of two years now, brown and orange, dirty, discoloured water has poured from those taps. Eight days ago, the Tánaiste asked Uisce Éireann for a clear timeline for solving this problem. The public has heard from Uisce Éireann on a number of occasions in the past week, but there is still no timeline. It is increasingly clear that the ancient water pipes that lie beneath the ground in Cork city need to be replaced as a matter of some urgency. Uisce Éireann tells us that 54% of the pipes are cast iron and are between 65 and 100 years old. It has quoted a cost of €500 million for those pipes to be replaced. Will the Taoiseach commit to spending this money if it is the only way to fix the problem? What will happen in the meantime?

Households are spending €15 a week and more on bottled water. That is €750 a year, which is the price of two or three water charges. These households should not be forced to pay one single cent. I ask the Taoiseach to ensure they do not do so. Will he commit to coming up with a scheme to provide safe, clean water to the people in affected areas free of charge? That could involve organising tankers full of water to tour communities and stop off at distribution points; providing households with vouchers that could be exchanged in shops for bottled water; or providing households with supplies of filters to be fitted to taps. One way or the other, households have to be relieved of this financial burden in a cost-of-living crisis and safe, clean water needs to be supplied by this State.

Last Thursday night, nearly 100 people gathered outside the Church of the Ascension at Gurranabraher and marched down Cathedral Road in protest. I do not think that will be the last protest of its kind. A campaign is now under way and it can grow. The Taoiseach needs to familiarise himself with the issues here. This is a big issue in the second largest city in the State. It is not going away. The Taoiseach needs to be able to answer the question about a timetable for getting it sorted and providing the funds to do so. He also needs to be able to answer the question about emergency reliefs for households now forced to shell out large sums of money for bottled water. I look forward to his reply.

I very much welcome the Deputy's commitment to investment in our water services. I thank him for raising this important issue in the Dáil, as he did last week. Uisce Éireann is working to address the issue of water supplies in Cork city, which I accept is a real issue. There are approximately 600 km of water mains in Cork city. About 50% to 60% of them are made from cast iron and are approximately 100 years old, dating back to the 1920s. Due to the age and deteriorating condition of the pipes, they are prone to burst, which gives rise to leaks. In the old cast iron mains, sediment can become dislodged during repair or upgrade works. That can occasionally be carried through to customers' taps, leading to water that can, very unpleasantly, appear brown or orange when someone turns on a tap.

Uisce Éireann has established a water quality task force, which is dedicated to improving the city's water quality. That task force is now implementing a plan that includes increased sampling at customer taps, at the network and at the treatment plant, intensified flushing programmes and a water mains replacement programme. Uisce Éireann continues to advise people not to drink discoloured water and to run the tap to restore water to a clear colour. The water is safe to drink once it runs clear.

Protecting public health is of course a top priority for Uisce Éireann and the Government, as I am sure it is for everybody in the House. The treatment process used by Uisce Éireann at the Lee Road water treatment plant is fully in line with national and global water treatment standards. Uisce Éireann continues to review the operational performance of the Lee Road water treatment plant. It is also investigating additional options to further improve water services in Cork city.

More broadly, we remain absolutely committed to providing investment in water infrastructure. No one can say that my party ever hid from this issue. Uisce Éireann has invested more than €100 million to improve water supply infrastructure across a number of projects, including the Cork city water supply scheme, which is nearing completion, the replacement of the Churchfield reservoir roof, the upgrade of the Glashaboy water treatment plant, and a new water treatment plant on the Lee Road. These are very significant investments that have been made in the water supply at Cork. I accept there is more to do.

There is a commitment in the programme for Government to ensure that Uisce Éireann is sufficiently funded to make the necessary investment in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. I have written to the Deputy today regarding this matter. I am engaging with the Minister for housing and Uisce Éireann on the timelines and clarity for people in Cork, for whom this is an important issue.

The Taoiseach mentioned Uisce Éireann's new task force, which came about under pressure from below. It is there now, however. It seems to operate in quite a closed and secretive way. I have asked, as have campaigners, that a representative from one of the affected communities be appointed to the task force. We asked that an experienced water worker representative also be appointed to that task force. There has been no joy from Uisce Éireann in that regard. Perhaps the Taoiseach will voice his support for those basic democratic demands in the Dáil today. He spoke about the flushing plan Uisce Éireann is putting in place that was announced last night, which is to target areas on the north side of the city, including Gurranabraher and Montenotte. It is no accident that Gurranabraher is one of the communities, given the protest there last week. Again, that was due to pressure from below.

The feedback we have from water workers and people living in communities where flushing programmes have taken place is that while they have an effect in the short term, the problem tends to re-emerge after a period, sometimes to the point of being as bad or even worse than it was previously. Will the Taoiseach please give me a reply to my question on emergency reliefs in his summing up?

The phrase "under pressure from below" is not one I am particularly familiar with. I certainly believe the way to get things done is through engagement. That might be a difference in political ideology. It is important to engage on these matters. The Deputy is a directly elected Member of this House. He is doing his job in engaging on behalf of his constituents. He corresponded with me on this and I have signed a letter to him today on it. He has raised the issue in the Dáil and I am engaging with Uisce Éireann on it.

I very much welcome the fact that Uisce Éireann has established a task force. It is an indication of the seriousness with which Irish Water is rightly taking the issues being experienced by some of the Deputy's constituents and people in Cork regarding water quality. It also very much highlights an issue we have been trying to highlight for a very long time, namely the need for decent investment plans for water and water quality in this country. We have had those debates in the House previously. I will come back to the Deputy on the emergency works as I need to get an update from Uisce Éireann in order to provide him with factual information on that matter.

Let there be no doubt that the Government is very committed to addressing these issues, to continuing to invest in the water supply and water treatment and to supporting the work of Uisce Éireann. We will not be found wanting in assisting Uisce Éireann as the task force carries out its work. There are practical things it is doing, some of which I outlined, that I hope will reassure the Deputy's constituents that this matter is being taken extraordinarily seriously.