Action Plan for Rural Development
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Jack Chambers (FF), Dublin West

I know the matter of Irish Water and its engagement with public representatives has been raised a number of times. Irish Water is on the infrastructure task force, and I will take the Deputy's comments away as a need to strengthen engagement. The challenge last year was a funding one. There had been consistent issues and concerns within both the construction sector, which works in partnership with Irish Water, and Irish Water itself about the level of funding and its capital plans. We responded to that with a €12 billion allocation. Some €2 billion of the €12 billion is even additional headroom for housing supply. We want to ensure that Irish Water builds and advances many of these projects. I do not have a specific breakdown with respect to its wastewater treatment plants or some of its water supply plans at a local level with me but I have heard a number of times the challenge the Deputy has referred to. It has been raised with the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste in other questions about the public engagement piece and the clarity of project delivery in certain towns and villages. I will engage directly with Irish Water on that because there should be clarity with respect to capital plans also across housing development. People need to know their ability to connect into a wastewater treatment plant and how that meets their objectives with respect to planning permissions they may want to commence. I will take that away. Now that we have responded to the question of funding, the question about reforming the delivery system to make it much quicker to deliver across many of the barriers and the areas which were identified in partnership with Irish Water, which has been very positive and constructive on the infrastructure task force, there is a need to ensure that communities and those in the construction sector have a sense of what is possible with particular projects. We will take that away and reflect the Deputy's feedback. I will come back to him directly on the matter.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-28