I wish to raise the issue of the details of the asylum claim of Ellie Kisyombe, a local election candidate for the Social Democrats in the north inner city, being splashed on the front page of a national newspaper last Sunday. I find it disturbing that, out of approximately 1,000 candidates hoping to contest the local elections in May, this woman was selected for investigation by the newspaper and made the subject of a front page story. The newspaper could only have obtained the information on which the article is based from a leak in the Department of Justice and Equality. Will the Leader request the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, to come to the House to discuss this disturbing matter to allow him the opportunity to deny that the information came from the Department?

I formed part of a panel with Ms Kisyombe some weeks ago and I said it was quite brave of her to put her name forward because it would open her life and situation to intense scrutiny. That is exactly what has happened. Official Ireland has found a way to try to put her back in her box by means of a screaming headline on the front page of a supposedly reputable newspaper. This House should not stand for it. There is a line that we cannot cross. The picketing of politicians' private homes is out of line and so is fishing into the personal details of a person's story and leaking them to a newspaper. The Minister for Justice and Equality should address the House on this issue. If it happened to Ellie Kisyombe, it could happen to anybody who seeks public office or anybody in the direct provision system who wishes to speak about the conditions in or the reality of that system. In recent years, this House has had a proud cross-party tradition, regardless of political allegiances, of Senators on the Government side and the Opposition speaking out about the injustices of the direct provision system. I can only imagine the horror Ms Kisyombe felt when she was singled out by a newspaper, having decided to run for election. A line has been crossed. The Minister or his representatives should come to the House to discuss whether a leak emanated from the Department, which is my suspicion. If that is so-----

What is the basis for that suspicion?

The Leader will have a chance to respond.

Senators must be fair. They cannot make outlandish statements which they cannot prove.

If the Leader thinks it an outlandish suggestion-----

The Senator's time is up.

That may be so, but I was interrupted.

The Senator is accusing the Minister of leaking information.

Personal information regarding an asylum seeker ended up on the front page of a newspaper. That information was held within the Department of Justice and Equality. If the Leader contends that it is outlandish to suggest that the information was leaked, he does not know the Department as well as I do. The Minister should be given the opportunity to come to the House and tell us that the information was not leaked by the Department.

On the matter, I was horrified that the information was published in a Sunday newspaper. Although I do not believe that the Minister or his staff, who always act appropriately, would leak such information, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that at some stage an official of the Department-----

One cannot say that.

There is nothing beyond the realms of possibility and it could have happened but the bottom line is that it should not have happened. It should be noted in this House that it happened and it was not appropriate. Nobody will ever get to the bottom of how it happened but it is regrettable that it did.

I have to thank the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring, for the rural regeneration fund, of which County Clare got almost €7 million. Lahinch Seaworld and Leisure Centre got €2.8 million, €900,000 went to Loop Head lighthouse, €1.7 million went to the Vandeleur Walled Garden in Kilrush and more money went to Holy Island. That said, there were projects that did not succeed in getting funding, and two in particular. One project which did not get funding was the Broadford sewerage scheme and the other was the Cooraclare sewerage scheme. Both sewerage schemes have been promised for decades. The ground for the treatment plant in Cooraclare was even purchased and several hundred thousands euro were spent but it just came to a standstill, in spite of commitments through previous Governments and the local authority.

I submitted this issue as a Commencement matter but it was ruled out of order because the Department did not want to come in and deal with the issue. It said that it was exclusively for Irish Water. It is my belief that the Government runs Irish Water so the fact that Irish Water was able to opt out of dealing with this as a Commencement matter is regrettable.

My question is simple. Can the Leader, on behalf of the people of Cooraclare in west Clare and Broadford in east Clare, communicate to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, that when any development in either of these villages is applied for, the message that comes back from the local authority is that it is premature ahead of a sewage scheme being constructed? The problem is that there are people in rural Ireland who are prepared to invest in development but it is not happening because of this type of situation. The Leader might ask the Minister to communicate with those communities who are unhappy with this and in his own good time, he might organise a debate on small village sewerage schemes because we need to get to the bottom of this.