Uisce Éireann Infrastructure Delivery, Accountability and Repair Timelines: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-14
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Rory Hearne (SD), Dublin North-West

It states very clearly that some of the key structural barriers to delivering infrastructure are Government approval of projects, the time it takes and the funding allocated. It is very clear that the systems the Government has set up are not delivering infrastructure quickly enough. That is the responsibility of the Government. The Minister of State can shake his head, but it is the Government's responsibility. It is a system that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have set up for decades. In terms of Uisce Éireann, there is an issue that these parties broadly do not believe in public utilities. It is about the market. Therefore, Uisce Éireann is left as a kind of commercial body that should deliver key public infrastructure, but does not have sufficient funding, as identified in the motion, to deal with leaks, water being of sufficient quality and infrastructure not being delivered for housing. It is not doing that now and there is no prospect of it doing so sufficiently.
The frustrating aspect of this is that the Government has given billions away to developers, investor funds and fast food chains.
Yet, our public infrastructure, which needs investment, is not given sufficient investment to ensure it addresses these problems in a reasonable timeframe. The timeframes set out are not reasonable. That is why we need a step-change in how we invest in our public water and wastewater infrastructure.
I will raise a case related to infrastructure, specifically the fact that people who are trying to get services are not getting them. Niamh and her mother Petria have been without heating since before September 2025 and are waiting on repairs. Niamh first flagged this issue in my office in October of last year. Her mother is 84 years of age. They have been without heating and a functioning boiler. They were advised by workers who inspected the boiler that it needed to be replaced rather than repaired. I wrote to the SEAI, the Minister for Social Protection and Dublin City Council raising this issue. The SEAI provided some information about grants and warmer homes and warned about lengthy waiting times. However, it said it will take potentially 14 months from the date of application to the date of delivery. These kinds of waiting times for water and heat are not acceptable. It is a fundamental failure of our State that people are left freezing in their homes.
I raise this case because I would like the Minister of State to take it up and see what he can do about it. I wrote to the community welfare officer in Finglas to follow up on the case. Niamh and Petria are waiting for this and I am concerned for their welfare. This is just one of many examples where the Government talks about economic growth in this country and the Taoiseach gets up in the Dáil and says the Opposition never talks about all of the great things the Government is doing when that is not the reality for too many people in this country. I was just in the audiovisual room listening to people with disabilities who cannot afford to heat their homes. These issues are connected because we have not developed a State that has funded our public services, including Uisce Éireann, city councils and county councils. This issue is directly connected to the motion because we have a State that does not deliver our public-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-14