Every TD in this House knows Irish Water is not fit for purpose. Every day, an Opposition TD or a Government TD raises an Irish Water issue in this Chamber. Every day, Government and Opposition TDs are on local radio criticising Irish Water. It beggars belief that despite water shortages, hosepipe bans and future and continued scarcity of water due to climate change, Irish Water would decide to close down and decommission a perfectly good water treatment system plant and reservoir. That is exactly what it proposes to do with the Poulavanogue water treatment plant, serving the town of Clonmel. This is one of the plants currently serving the town and has done so for the best part of 100 years. Irish Water also proposes to decommission the Ragwell reservoir, a facility that can hold up to two days water supply for the town.

At the same time, it is bringing very hard water into the town. This supply already supplies part of the northern part of the town and has created huge financial problems and pressures for families who are already hard pressed. It damages white goods, electric kettles, dishwashers, washing machines and showers, forcing families to replace these on a regular basis. Many families are being forced to install water softeners at considerable cost and to pay for the maintenance. Now, Irish Water proposes to impose this very hard water on homes and businesses in the town. Irish Water refuses to even consider softening this hard water at source, something which is done routinely throughout Europe and in the United States. Irish Water has also refused to mix the soft water supply at Poulavanogue with the hard water supply from Monroe to reduce the hardness. South Tipperary TDs have asked for copies of the various reports Irish Water have relied on when making these decisions. We have not received those reports.

I am asking the Minister to immediately and urgently intervene with Irish Water to stop the closure and decommissioning of the Poulavanogue water supply, maintain the Poulavanogue supply for the purpose of a backup water supply for the town and for mixing with the hard water from Monroe and make available to TDs and public representatives all reports pertaining to the closure of the Poulavanogue supply and Ragwell reservoir. Irish Water must be made accountable on these issues and others. I ask the Minister today to make sure that happens by intervening with Irish Water on these issues.

I thank the Deputy. While I do not have the specific details of the case he outlined, I will bring this and all of the challenges he outlined directly back to the relevant Minister. Unfortunately, we still have a number of communities that are impacted by water infrastructure, much of which is decades old. It is important that the Government ensures that the significant amount of funding we have put directly into Irish Water is invested in communities and spent as quickly as possible and that the upgrades to our water facilities, treatment plants, piping and infrastructure that is decades old happen as quickly as possible.

From July of this year, Uisce Éireann marked a commitment to invest in the reimagined water infrastructure right across Tipperary, the Deputy's county. There was a €16 million upgrade in the Rossadrehid water treatment plant, the construction of which is now under way and will provide a safer, more reliable water supply for homes and businesses right across the region, originating in the Galtee Mountains. It is obviously an important source of water for the plant and it provides services to thousands of homes and businesses across the region.

This is about making sure every part of the county has access to that type of supply of water. It is about making sure the investment and significant funding that have been provided by the Government, through the national development plan and directly to Uisce Éireann, is invested as quickly as possible and people see the benefit. One of the biggest challenges we have, and I see this in my county as well, is that our population has grown very significantly in a short space of time. It is about making sure we can keep up with that growth, keep up with the delivery of houses and make sure that, at the same time, we are not just investing in new infrastructure but also replacing old and outdated infrastructure, in particular.

The specific issue the Deputy raised is one that many people deal with in their communities. There is then the impact it has on their appliances, which means they have to change them or invest in softeners. That is a frustration and something people do not need to deal with. That is why we are investing this significant amount of funding overall. On the specific cases the Deputy mentioned, I am happy to bring them back to the Minister to see if more can be done to speed up the process and address the concerns raised by the Deputy's constituents.

Irish Water is an unaccountable quango. It has absolutely no respect for TDs or public representatives. Every TD in this Dáil can speak directly to every Government Department, including every section in the Department of Social Protection. TDs can contact county council staff at management, engineering and administrative level. They can speak with HSE staff at all levels. They can talk to Garda officers at local and national level. In fact, every TD in this House can speak directly to any organisation that deals with the public. Why is Irish Water different? Why does Irish Water refuse to deal directly with elected public representatives? That is the case. There is no way Irish Water will speak directly with Members of this House or members of local authorities. Why is Irish Water the only organisation that does this?

We are elected democratically and Irish Water should be available to every TD in this House through a nominated local official who can deal with issues arising locally and nationally. I ask the Minister to intervene directly with Irish Water in relation to stopping the closure and decommissioning of the Poulavanogue treatment plant in Clonmel.

I fully agree with the Deputy. Irish Water should be and is accountable to every single person in this House.

No, it is not. That is the problem. It is not.

Allow the Minister to respond.

There is a process in place and it should be the case that the Deputy can access and can talk directly to people. I am not saying that it is working effectively; it is clearly not if the Deputy is raising this here.

We get put talking to a call centre.

However, it is absolutely essential that an organisation that has been provided with €12 billion, as it has been in a revised national development plan, and that has been provided with billions of euro to support the delivery of homes and to invest in our capital infrastructure is accountable to every person in this House.

It should be but it is not. We can only call and talk to a call centre.

Deputy Healy, please allow the Minister to conclude.

It is frustrating.

I understand that, but the Minister has the floor. I ask the Minister to respond.

I am agreeing with the Deputy. I am saying very clearly it should be the case. Deputies should not be standing up here saying that they cannot access or engage with people. I will again raise this directly with the Minister. We have spoken of it. I have spoken of it. My party colleagues have spoken of it. Any organisation that receives billions of euro of taxpayers' money from the Government should be and is accountable to every Member in this House. It is not acceptable if the Deputy is not able to access, talk directly to or get answers from people. I fully agree with him. I am very happy to raise the concerns he has raised here today. I am very happy to relay that back to the Minister. I expect that, as a public representative, I should be able to speak to and engage with officials on the ground when it concerns billions of euro of taxpayers' money and I am elected as a people's representative to monitor where that goes. I fully agree with the Deputy and I will raise his concerns directly.