I rise to discuss an issue that is extremely important in my constituency and in the adjoining one, which is the Taoiseach's constituency. It concerns an ongoing problem that I highlighted in 2021 with the help of the investigative journalism of Amy Nolan from The Echo. I refer to the condition of the water supply across the northside of Cork city and now into parts of the county as well. As the Taoiseach is well aware, the connection that was brought from Ballincollig to the old waterworks on the River Lee, which connected to the existing system, had too high a velocity. That started an ongoing problem. The pipes are rusting, breaking and are destroyed. There is a problem with flushing systems. Irish Water has continuously been flushing for the past four years on the northside. People are waking up on the northside of the city not knowing whether they can bathe their children, wash their hands, have a shower or put on a wash and leave. There are elderly and disadvantaged people in this community who are heavily reliant on others to know whether their tap water is brown or is running clear.

Nobody is concerned to address this issue four years after it was originally highlighted. Irish Water has come out with a statement that €500 million needs to be secured for Cork City Council. Working on the basis that the €500 million is provided, it would take 90 years, at the rate the work is being done, to replace the Victorian pipeline in Cork city. What Irish Water has done for the northside of the city is introduce two trunking systems that are continuously pumping out water. There are communities going three or four days without water, with householders unable to run a tap, take a shower, bathe a child or wash bedding. That is unacceptable. It is something we would see in an advertisement for an African charity asking for money to build a well. That is the way the people of the northside are being treated. There are people with pubs and other businesses that are reliant on the mains supply for their ice machines, dishwashers and steam ovens. They do not want know whether they can open their business on a given day because the water supply is not secure. The problem has now moved into a little bit of the southside of Cork city. The dermatology department in Cork University Hospital, CUH, is no longer providing baths for patients because the state of the water cannot be guaranteed. These are patients who attend CUH on a regular basis. It is an absolute scandal.

We have asked continuously about the funding but there is no mention of it in the programme for Government. Where is the €500 million that needs to be secured for the northside? I say respectfully to the Taoiseach that I wonder whether this would be acceptable if it were happening in Turners Cross in his constituency. What is not good enough for the southside certainly should not be good enough for the northside. Yet again, we are being let down by him and his Government.

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue, of which I am aware. As he knows, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan has been raising it for quite some time, along with Deputy Gould and others. There have been ongoing issues with the quality of water in Cork, predominantly on the northside of the city. I have met with Irish Water on a wide range of issues and I have specifically raised this matter with its representatives. They indicated to me that some investments they have made will improve the situation. They are hoping for an improvement in the quality of water.

The Deputy is correct that there are huge issues with replacing the Victorian system of pipes. We will be allocating substantial additional capital to Irish Water. It must continue the replacement programme. It will also have to develop newer capacity to ensure that houses get built and we can get development going. I will continue to work with Irish Water to accelerate the work required to deal with this issue. It is a very serious issue for people's quality of life, as the Deputy said, in terms of bathing water and drinking water. Of that there is no doubt. There is a programme of work under way in this regard. It cannot wait 90 years; that is accepted. We will be allocating funding to Irish Water through the updated national development plan but it must come with certain commitments and guarantees as to how that money will be spent.

Some €100 million has been spent already on improving water supply in the Cork area more generally. As the Deputy knows, the Cork city water supply scheme is nearing completion. We have had the replacement of the Churchfield reservoir roof and the upgrade of the Glashaboy water treatment plant and the Lee Road water treatment system. The city now has a much more modernised water supply system. There are about 600 km of water mains pipes in the city, 50% to 60% of which are made from cast iron and go back to the 1920s, making them approximately 100 years old. That is one of the big issues. The system is prone to bursts and leakage. Sediment can become dislodged in the old mains pipes during repair or upgrade works. This has caused huge issues in terms of the browning and discolouring of water and so forth. There are ongoing issues. There is a programme under way by Uisce Éireann, which will continue, and there will be further investments.

It is all very well what the Taoiseach has said and the commitment he has given. I am asking for a commitment in respect of the €500 million Irish Water has asked for to start developing the system. The Taoiseach will be aware of the news today that 33 samples of manganese have been found in water in Cork city. Manganese is at an unacceptable level there. I have just poured into the glass in front of me a sample of water from Cork city. This is what it looks like. That is what is coming out of the taps on the northside of the city. It is unacceptable to say the Government will try to do something to make it better. I challenge the Taoiseach or any other Member of this House to drink this water. I will not drink it. There are elderly people around Cork city who cannot see and do not know what is coming out of their tap. Consider trying to bathe a child in this water. What the Taoiseach is saying today might sound good but no action is being taken. My constituents - fellow Corkonians - are suffering.

As I said, Uisce Éireann is working proactively to address the issues with water supply in Cork. The planned flushing of the network took place in the first week of July last year in the Ballyvolane area, including Ballyvolane Shopping Centre, Ballyvolane new road, Riverview Estate and Meadow Park Lawn, over a seven-week period. Those flushing works are part of Uisce Éireann's network improvement plan to address water discolouration issues. Uisce Éireann says it is seeing a positive trend in areas that have been flushed to date. It expects those works to lead to further improvements in water quality. Planned flushing has been completed at Spring Lane, Ballyvolane Road, Park Court, Meelick Park and Kempton Park. A substantial area of flushing in Cork North-Central, which encompasses areas off the Ballyvolane Road, commenced at the end of September last year and was set to take approximately two months to complete. Further works were to get under way on Wednesday, 30 October, with the planned flushing to take place at Mervue Crescent and so forth. The work is continuing and the investment is going to be allocated. Obviously, Uisce Éireann will programme that investment. Substantial billions of euro will be allocated to Irish Water in the context of the national development plan to deal with this issue and wider issues in terms of wastewater treatment plants and water supply for new housing developments.