I thank the Minister of State for being here this evening to take this question. I appreciate that. The Minister of State will not need me to tell him that the people of Kildare and the eastern region are sincerely sick and tired of waking up to dry taps. In Kildare, in particular, we have had such consistent outages over the past number of weeks and months in many different areas that frustration is really at boiling pint at this stage. For context, we saw in the census very recently that Kildare's population 100 years ago was 50,000-odd people. Fast-forward 100 years and it is nearly over 250,000 at this stage. It is the fastest growing county in the country. That population has doubled in 30 years. We have had huge population growth, but I cannot understate the impact that has had on the services, most specifically when it comes to water. It is really having an enormous impact on people's lives. We had a nice few days last week with a bit of sunshine. People woke up on Sunday morning to hear that in 24 hours, with no notice, Allenwood reservoir had run dry. A lot of pockets of these same communities only four, six and eight weeks ago were told there is a risk of planned flooding because the reservoirs were too high. It seems that we cannot deal with too much water and we cannot deal with too little water. My worry and my analysis keep bringing me to this point: where is the political accountability or oversight here? My concern is that without direct involvement at ministerial level, the utility is missing some sort of accountability. We have had it before the Committee of Public Accounts. We have had really thorough and robust engagement with the representatives. However, that is a very rare opportunity for political questioning. As a TD, as any Member of this House will know, if we put a question to the Minister for housing who has ultimate responsibility, the first line of every parliamentary reply is that water is not his responsibility. The Minister of State has been here as a councillor. He knows all too well the number of queries or contacts a county councillor will get about water, whether it is planned outages, unplanned outages or capital works. People go to the authority or the local authority and they say it is not their problem either. TDs cannot get answers from a Minister and councillors cannot get answers from the local authority and so people go to the rep desk. I am sure it will be part of the Minister of State's response that the rep desk is there but if he has used it, he will know that you will wait weeks upon weeks for an answer that ultimately does not ask. Really, it goes beyond what is acceptable in terms of any sort of real, thorough engagement. I am asking with great sincerity tonight, not just for Kildare at all, although it is significantly felt in Kildare, but right across the region. Is there an appetite within the Minister of State, the Department or with Government colleagues to further increase political accountability and oversight here? I accept that many bodies are established to allow a set of professionals, in this instance, Uisce Éireann, to get on with the work and to escape any sort of political influence. That is laudable. However, the Comptroller and Auditor General and many others have noted that Uisce Éireann is quite specific in its set-up. We know the origins of that. My worry is there is a lack of strategy here, a lack of oversight and a lack of transparency within which political representatives, whether they be councillors, Senators or TDs, can get access to timely information. I look forward to the Minister of State's reply. I sincerely emphasise that piece with regard to Kildare.

Sentiment score: 0.10

I thank the Minister of State for that response. Even in Kildare, you can see the impact of that funding. You can see the works happening from a capital perspective, whether it is roadworks or significant works that are happening to unlock that residential development within the county. The problem is we are midway through that in Kildare and I wonder whether the capacity is increasing at reservoir level. That is a concern for me as a wider piece. The Minister of State might come back in on that. The bit that irks me a little, if I am honest, is that I am genuinely curious as to the nature of the relationship between the Department and the body itself. How involved is the Minister or how involved can he be, when we heard at the Committee of Public Accounts that nearly 94% of Uisce Éireann staff got their full bonuses in 2024? That smacks in the face people in Leixlip, for example, who have been noting, in 2026, unplanned outages in February and twice in April; and in 2025, in January, March, twice in May, twice in July and December. When these outages happen, the staff on the ground are phenomenal at trying to minimise the impact on communities but there is something wrong at the core if this is continuously going to happen. As I said, the news a couple of months ago was that they might have to flood our community because the reservoir levels were too high and then, a couple of weeks later with a little sunshine, that water is gone and they have to turn our taps off. At this point, I offer my full support for greater oversight and greater communication networks between public representatives, the body and the Department. I welcome the billions of euro for infrastructure, which is more than needed, but what happens after that if the capacity remains a problem?

Sentiment score: 0.12