Irish Water dispute
Senator Ardagh argued local authorities could have fixed the pipes, while the Leader defended Irish Water and blamed years of underinvestment. He said the crisis showed why the system and communication with the public were needed.
Irish Water did not need to be set up to do such work. A local authority could have fixed the pipes.
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The reality is Senator Ardagh's party was in government for 17 years but never invested in water infrastructure.
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At a time when 60% of water went into the ground.
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In the city and county that I represent raw sewage was being pumped into Cork Harbour. Are we going to sustain such a situation for the rest of our lives or do we want to get real? I join Senator Ardagh in asking Irish Water to communicate effectively and efficiently with the people affected by the current water crisis. There is a need to recognise the fact that there are water leakages. There is an issue with the water supply in the reservoir but, unfortunately, we cannot do anything about it this time.
We had a 10% increase in the demand for water from Friday to Sunday in the greater Dublin area. Rather than create another political storm, let us all work together to ensure that we allow for investment in the water network, as sought by Senator Ardagh. I would pose the following questions to Senator Ardagh and the members of the Sinn Féin Party, in particular. Who pays for it now? Where will the money come from?