I wish to raise my concerns about the future of Irish rivers, in particular in the context of a plan apparently being put forward by the Fianna Fáil housing Department to redesignate a large number of rivers as heavily modified water bodies. I refer to rivers like the Boyne, the Barrow, the Corrib, the Dodder, the Liffey, the Lee and the Shannon. Concerns have been raised by Friends of the Irish Environment and the Sustainable Water Network to the effect that the redesignation of a large number of rivers - 433 water bodies in all - as heavily modified water bodies will effectively lock those water bodies into lower environmental standards and thereby have a really detrimental impact upon biodiversity.

The developer may have encountered difficulties in the interim and in cases such as Old Garden, the wastewater system has fallen into considerable disrepair. This has resulted in an unsafe environment for residents with the constant possibility of bad smells and leakage. I understand that Uisce Éireann’s currently policy precludes consideration of estates served by this type of infrastructure, which is not connected to its network. This has become commonplace in rural villages, such as Shanagarry, in the absence of a new wastewater treatment plant. As such, I ask the Taoiseach to engage with Uisce Éireann to see what can be done in the short term for the residents of Old Garden and what treatment plant development plans can be progressed for Shanagarry in the long term.