I just want to inform Deputy Heneghan that I welcomed four young hares into my field the other morning. They were grand specimens. I thank the local community groups, the Tidy Towns committees and the rural development companies for the great work they do enhancing our environment around all our towns and villages in the county of Kerry. We are facing a massive challenge with our wastewater treatment plants. Our local authorities and Irish Water have been starved of funding to deal with these plants. We have towns in Kerry that are over capacity. Castleisland has been looking for an extension to its treatment plant for 40 years. I found documents belonging to my father in the garage, where he was working on it. One third of the town is dealt with using septic tanks. The Minister of State knows this is not the way to go. Villages like Scartaglin and Currow are all very close to each other and they have no treatment plants. Scartaglin has none and Currow just has a holding tank, which is drawn out of constantly to the treatment plant in Killarney. Moyvane is a satellite village of Tralee, and not another house can be built there because the sewerage system will not take an extra house as it is over capacity. Many of our towns and villages need improvements in this regard. There are 32 or 33 now on a list to be dealt with. That will not happen without funding, and Irish Water will not have access to funding unless the Government gives it to the company. I am appealing to the Government now. It must start on the ground, and maybe people do not like talking about sewage, but we cannot build houses if we do not have waste treatment plants and if places like Kenmare are still waiting for water. These are the things that have to be dealt with and have to be funded. I appeal to the Government again from this seat here, and I have been directing my requests across the Chamber since I came up here in 2016. I am asking for this funding. The other thing I am asking for is to clear out our rivers. Our rivers are overshadowed by trees, and salmon or trout will not thrive in them. I am asking that the rivers be cleaned out like was always done. That is why the fish numbers are depleting. We need to start doing those things.

Sentiment score: 0.09