I will try to be constructive but, following on from my colleague, €11,000 is a joke of an amount of money. I appeal to the Minister of State to increase that amount. A local authority that has a property that will cost between €50,000 and €80,000 to fix will leave it idle and fix the voids that are cheaper. The Government is only giving €11,000 plus the grant for the retrofitting, so call it €25,000. Therefore, all the cheaper houses are done first, but what happens then is that the local authorities are leaving the houses that are worst affected idle for years. Houses in my constituency have been left idle for three or four years and it then causes antisocial behaviour and dumping. Can the Minister of State imagine the environment in which the children are growing up? Without criticising the Minister of State because he is new into the job - I said this to previous housing Ministers and I will say it to him now - will he please increase the funding? Many local authorities do not have the budgets to carry out that work. In Cork, there are hundreds of boarded-up void houses. Can the Minister of State imagine being homeless and looking at them? It is a sin.
Sentiment score: 0.05
I wish to inform the Minister and the other Deputies talking about excess water usage that water in Cork is undrinkable. Some of the time, it is not fit for human consumption. In Gurranabraher, the area in which I live, test data is coming back stating that the levels of manganese are so high that the water is unfit for human consumption. Still, we cannot get a "do not consume" notice from Irish Water. The HSE is washing its hands of the matter and the EPA is running for cover. Right now, there are water charges in Cork, because people are spending between €20 and €30 per week on water. Does the Minister know that manganese can have a devastating effect on young children's neurological development? That is what the people of Cork are drinking. Many people do not have the money to buy water, and that is what Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have given to us. Cork City Council was to meet with Irish Water, the HSE and the EPA yesterday. The meeting was cancelled because Uisce Éireann will not come to city hall to answer questions. For two and a half years, we have had dirty and unsafe water in the second city in this State. The Deputy is coming in here talking about water charges. For five years, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have stopped-----
Sentiment score: -0.09
Where in the programme for Government is a referendum on water-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
-----to protect the people.
Sentiment score: 0.38
Hear, hear.
Sentiment score: 0.00