Michael Collins demands urgent plan to fix wastewater crisis

Michael Collins. Thank you very much indeed. I am delighted to get the opportunity to speak on this debate here today. I am on the business committee and I have been five weeks looking for this debate, Minister. It has taken a hell of a long time to get here. I have absolutely no disrespect to you, but the senior minister should be here. It is a huge issue. It is a national issue and it is a national crisis. Wastewater, Ishgairn, whatever we want to talk about it, I could be here for about two days talking about issues in my own constituency. But I want to look at a way forward too, Minister. I did ask last week that we would have a questions analysis session, which was not allowed, that is fair enough. I did say, in fairness, if it was, that we would forward the questions here so that you would have answers, rather than just throwing questions here and walking away. The whole point I am trying to make, Minister, is that we need to look at how we are going to get past the crisis at the moment. Basically, I would pick a town like Dunmanway, right, in West Cork. Dunmanway, several metres of Ishgairn, and we are going not further, talking about workshops and, I don't know, sweet shops, I know what they are on about. But anyway, all this kind of nonsense, that is going nowhere as such. So it is pushed out now to 20, 20, 30, 20, 32, we do not really know. The first thing what Independent Ireland did in their policies is that Ishgairn would be compelled to give a start and a finish deed, compelled to give that, within five years. Because the people of Dunmanway need to know, can their son, can their daughter, can Cairn land builders, build houses in Dunmanway going forward. Are we, are they going to be blocked for 10 more years? Are they going to be blocked for 30 years? We, no one seems to know. And that is the distinction. It is right, it is fine for me to be in here bashing Ishgairn. I am not here bashing Ishgairn. I would love to come up here and tell you that they have done well and they have got treatment back. The raw sewage is pouring into the toilet. Look at Shannon, so that is about 15 years and there is no house going to be built. But what I am saying to you Ministers, is there a possibility, and it has happened before, that the developer who wants to build the houses where the houses are needed, like places like Dunmanway, will be brought on board with Ishgairn and co-fund the development of the waste water treatment plants. And that is where we need to look at. Is there an opportunity here? Because we are not moving, if we are depending on Ishgairn to deliver, because they will say they do not have the monies and if they do not, I cannot argue with that. The other side, I am looking at Shannon Veal, 27 years Minister, 27 years pouring raw sewage into the local play park. Ross Carberry, raw sewage going into the water, the tider. A gentleman told me at a meeting last year that his son jumped into the water, he was sick for several days after because he drank raw sewage, that is basically what he ended up doing. Balladahob, 20 years. Golean, 25 where I live myself. So we are going absolutely nowhere. So if I, as a farmer, a farmer in here has a leakage in their farm, the EPA are doing them, the County Councillor are doing them, and they close their business. They put them out of business. They find them out of business. They find them out of business. But when it comes to Ishgairn, there is no accountability. The EPA are gone blind, they are gone away asleep behind the table somewhere, behind the desk. They are not really kicking in the enforcements and the laws that they have. So what I am saying is that the political parties that are in here are misleading the people here when they come in with these figures, whether it is Sinn Féin, Féin Fáil, Fine Gael, South Timms and Labour, they have misled the people continuously giving figures that can never, ever be delivered, Minister, until we have a proper Ishgairn, Irish water, a company that can tell us what is going to happen and when it is going to happen, and that is not happening at the stage. So we are all in the field and faith, so we can get to that, because all those who are and the people are working upon, which they have not going to do, I can get to. So if it's a time actually working on the field and your空 where it was going to happen… To be honest with you. That keeping track of the film, it is an opportunity for you to think your help and read then. I'll take it to the