Water: Statements Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21 ============================================================ Tony McCormack (FF), Offaly I acknowledge the significant work being delivered by the Minister, Deputy Browne, the Minister of State and the accelerated infrastructure programme brought forward by the Minister, Deputy Chambers. That programme is about unlocking funding, removing bottlenecks and clearing whatever is holding up progress on critical infrastructure projects. This work is welcome and necessary. However, the reality on the ground in County Offaly tells a very different story. Across our towns and villages, expansion is effectively frozen. Homes cannot be built because communities are waiting years, and sometimes decades, for water treatment plants. This has left developers, local authorities and approved housing bodies unable to meet housing demand. In the middle of a housing crisis, that is simply unacceptable. In other areas, the situation is even more serious. We have raw sewage coming up through manholes, destroying roads and footpaths and flowing directly into the canal. If this were a private company, the State would be all over it, using every environmental regulation available. It would be shut down until the problem was solved, yet Irish Water has been allowed to get away with this year after year. Recently, during very heavy rainfall, sewage again surged up through the manholes and reached as far as people’s front doors. Residents were left distressed and angry, and rightly so. Irish Water has failed to give proper assurances to residents or councillors that the system will be actively monitored during periods of heavy rainfall, pipes will be kept clear or meaningful temporary measures will be put in place to protect homes. Irish Water says it has completed a survey in Tullamore and will put in over 3 km of wastewater piping, starting in the fourth quarter of this year. I want the Minister of State and the Minister to make sure this happens and that Irish Water cannot put it on the long finger. As we know, Irish Water is very good at that. What about Birr, Cloghan, Banagher, Ferbane, Kilcormac, Rhode and Edenderry? When are we going to get help to allow these towns to grow? Even where temporary measures have worked so far, they are exactly that - temporary. At some point they will fail and we will be back to square one. That is not good enough. The people of Tyrells Road and Tullamore deserve better. The message is simple: stop managing the problem - get it fixed and get the work done now. I want to address the Shannon water supply project. This is a vital national project, currently projected to begin in 2028 and conclude in 2032, all going to plan. If our country is to grow and develop sustainably, it is essential that this project happens. As part of this project, there are proposed spurs for Tullamore and Mullingar and a connection to Nenagh. That is under phase 2. I am asking clearly and firmly that these spurs be delivered as part of phase 1. We have all seen what happens with so-called phase 2 projects. They are delayed by maybe 20, 30 or even 40 years or never happen at all. These spurs are not optional extras; they are vital to the future growth of Tullamore, Mullingar and Nenagh and to achieve balanced regional growth. We cannot afford more delays, more broken promises or more communities left behind. Infrastructure must lead development, not block it. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-21/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:51+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-01-21