Brian Stanley warns Leash housing will be held back by water failures
Brian Stanley warned that water supply and wastewater infrastructure in Leash are failing and will undermine housing and development. He criticised Irish Water and Ishgera for shortcomings, highlighted towns listed as 'red' for water and wastewater capacity, and demanded local engineers, lower connection costs and a referendum to prevent privatisation.
Key shortages identified
Brian Stanley said Irish Water's own documents show significant gaps in supply and sewage infrastructure across Leash. He listed towns facing water pressure or shortages - Port Arrington, Mount Drath, Stradbally, Ratdownie, Ballylinen, Dorough, Killinard, Burris and Ostry, Ballinacill, Castletown, Ballybrittis, Dunan and the Swan - all marked red for water. He said Great Cullen, Burris and Ostry, Ballinacill and the Swan are in need of wastewater upgrades.
Infrastructure and housing pressure
He argued that housing cannot continue to be prioritised without matching infrastructure, warning that concentrating building in Port Leash is unsustainable. Brian Stanley described Port Leash as gridlocked with traffic, with GP surgeries booked out, schools full and local services under huge pressure.
Connection costs and loss of local control
He criticised connection costs since Ishgera took over as having "absolutely skyrocketed", citing an example of a couple charged in excess of 20,000 euros and detailing a charge of 6,200 for the first 10 metres and 800 euros per additional metre. He said the creation of Ishgera removed local democracy, local engineers and local contacts, leaving councillors and TDs without effective local-based staff to deal with problems.
Calls for remedies and a referendum
Brian Stanley called on Ishgera to reinstate local-based engineers and accessible local contacts for county councillors and TDs and to reduce what he called exorbitant connection charges. He urged the minister to bring forward a referendum to enshrine protections so that water services cannot be privatised.
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Thanks, Cahir, and welcome to the journey to speak on this debate. The provision of water supply and wastewater infrastructure are critical for sustainable development. With housing being a number one priority, we must have the infrastructure to go with it. And in Leash, despite the best efforts of Leash County Council, there are major shortcomings that will hold back developments. The county is undergoing significant population expansion, but there's huge gaps in infrastructure. And that's according to Irish Water's own documents, which I have scrutinised. Towns, there's water pressure issues, and there's going to be a shortage of water supply in towns like Port Arrington, Mount Drath, Stradbally, Ratdownie, Ballylinen, Dorough, Killinard, Burris and Ostry, Ballinacill, Castletown, Ballybrittis, Dunan and the Swan. They are all listed as red according to Irish Water. And in terms of wastewater, Great Cullen, Burris and Ostry, Ballinacill and the Swan, they're all in need of upgrade. All of those houses and villages need infrastructure to meet housing demand. And we can't just keep putting all housing in Port Leash. It's good that there's housing being built, but we can't. The town of Port Leash is absolutely gridlocked with traffic most weekdays and even on weekends. It doesn't have, there's issues, the towns around the town, the towns around the, or the roads around the town are chocolate block. GP surgeries are booked out, schools are full and services are under huge pressure. And let me say this about the issue of connection costs. The connection costs since Ishgera took over have absolutely skyrocketed. They've gone way ahead of where they were with the local authorities. One couple in Leash was asked for in excess of 20,000 to provide a water connection quite a short distance. Over 20,000. That's completely over the top. So 6,200 for the first 10 metres. And it's 800 euros a metre after that. Now do the sums on that and you don't be long clocking up 20,000, 30,000 or 40,000 euros. And that needs to be revised. The issue of Ishgera and the creation of it. I argued with Minister Phil Hogan on the floor of this House in relation to this 13, 14 years ago. And we had many head-to-heads over it. And I wasn't in favour of it and I'm still not in favour of the creation of it. We're stuck with it. What has been said already, it took away local democracy, local knowledge of the network and services was lost. Local engineers were lost. Local water keepers that are essential were lost. And local-based staff to deal with issues. And a forum for local councillors, democratically elected and accountable to their electorate. That was taken away. Now Ishgera promised to provide local contacts. They promised to provide local engineers. And if anybody can find them, show me them. Because I certainly had difficulty and I know other public representatives have difficulties finding them. And that's been one of the huge gaps, along with the local knowledge being lost. You know, and as people, as the existing county council workers go, this is going to be a problem. The simple facts are, is these services should have been left with local authorities. So, what I would say to you in conclusion, is that while there are, you know, cross-county infrastructures, such as the Shannon Pipeline, that can be done by the same way as the National Roads Authority built roads across counties. So, leashed towns and villages need infrastructure upgrades. Ishgera must put local-based engineers and local contacts in place for county councillors and TDs. And they must reduce the exorbitant costs for the connections. And Minister, you must bring forward that referendum to make sure, to put it into constitution, to ensure that water services can't be privatised. I call on Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett.
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