I ask the Deputy to stay for the response.

In conclusion, I have given my reply to the Deputy. It is disingenuous that he walked out while I was speaking. That really is disingenuous of the Deputy while I am here addressing a question that he brought here. I have given my reply to him and that is the end of that.

I agree with that. It is disgraceful.

Lá Fhéile Bríde shona daoibh go léir. I thank the Senator for bringing this matter to the House. We have discussed it before and he has raised it on a number of occasions. As the Acting Chairperson has said, it is something that all of our constituency offices are dealing with. There is no doubt the grant is no longer fit for purpose. Given the rising costs of labour and materials, it would certainly not complete the works. It may have done in the past when it was introduced, but it is certainly not meeting all of …

I appreciate the Senator's frustration. I know I have come back in here a few times with pretty much the same stock answer. He should rest assured we are working on it and we hope to have an outcome from that process very soon with a revised set of thresholds. As I mentioned, the trajectory of the capital allocations increasing year on year is commensurate with increased demand. Given that our population is ageing and people are living longer, those demands will increase in the future. It is important we work toget…

I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, who has noted with dismay the reports of recent vandalism and damage to sports facilities in Dublin. I saw some of the reporting on it myself. It was more than superficial damage, from my view of it. I cannot stress enough the importance and value of such facilities to local communities. The maintenance and management of the sports facilities of Dublin City Council is a matter for the local authority. The Department has been informed by…

The Deputy has made a good suggestion. I will take it back to the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne. Critically, it is important that Dublin City Council engage with the clubs and try to find a solution, particularly when incidents such as this occur because they can leave a pitch unplayable for quite some time. The capital grants I spoke about will allow the works to be carried out on these pitches to make them playable. It can be quite significant to get drainage and all those issues resolved. It is really unfortun…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist seo a ardú. I thank the Deputy for bringing the question forward. We were wandering the roads of Sligo together last Friday. I thank him for the hospitality shown to me last week. I understand the Deputy’s question relates to the community involvement scheme which provides financial assistance to local communities for repairs and maintenance of local roads. As Deputy Feighan is aware and as outlined in the national development plan, the Government is strongly committed …

As I recall from my time on a local authority, the LIS similarly was always oversubscribed. There are very good schemes just like the CIS. Given the scale of our rural roads network, demand will always exceed supply. We understand that the road network suffers deterioration over time and these impacts are felt by communities especially on more lightly trafficked public roads that serve local areas. In some instances, local authorities may not be able to fund regular maintenance on these routes from within their ann…

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí as ucht an cheist seo. The Cork city water supply is a really important issue and we appreciate the concerns being raised by both Deputies on this and regarding having to buy bottled water and regarding the discolouration issue. It is something that is affecting communities in Cork and we are conscious of that. As part of budget 2024, the Minister secured funding of €1.6 billion to support Uisce Éireann in the delivery of water services. This overall investment will deliver signifi…

I will say two things to both Deputies. First, our water supply, network and services and Uisce Éireann form a public utility that is in public ownership. It is not privatised. We consistently hear this argument in this House.

As the Deputy well knows, DBO contracts to put in place water services are contracts with Uisce Éireann. Uisce Éireann is a publicly owned utility. I moved the legislation in this House myself to ensure that it is a public utility. Whatever about the motion in Cork City Council-----

That work has to be carried out.

I will just say that.

It is a publicly owned utility.

It is important to say that. Second, I will say-----

-----in relation to the issues, if there are other areas I have not listed in my opening contribution to the Deputies, I ask that they bring them forward to us. I will absolutely bring them back to Uisce Éireann. It is the intention of Uisce Éireann to resolve these issues. When the water is clear, municipal water is of the highest quality and highest standard and the vast majority-----

-----of our public supplies are of good quality and far better than a lot of bottled water people are purchasing. I will say that as well. It is Government's objective to ensure that we fully fund Uisce Éireann to carry out its work and meet its requirements in delivering safe, potable water to people.

All I will ask is that the Deputies bring forward areas that have not been resolved by Uisce Éireann-----

-----and we will bring them back to Uisce Éireann.