I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward this motion. We have a large number of issues in Donegal with water. It is probably the biggest issue outside of defective concrete. Many areas lack waterworks and engineers. They face significant issues, such as pipe bursts and lack of proper infrastructure. We have issues and outages reported throughout Inishowen, west Donegal, Bundoran, Stranorlar, Ballybofey, Fanad, Pettigo, Ballyshannon and Letterkenny. Nearly 100,000 people are affected by this. The Slavery water treatment plant in Buncrana has consistently experienced issues over the last year, with residents left without water for days at a time. In the past three months, they have lost water for nearly a week. Water tankers had to be dispersed onto the streets. Before Christmas, a burst water main in north Inishowen and another burst water main in Dunfanaghy caused major disruption. People in the Milford-Ramelton area have been asked to conserve water for nearly two years. There is a total hosepipe in place for five months of the year. It is basically a drought. In a place where it is raining all the time, we are facing water shortages through lack of maintenance. Malin Head had water shortages lasting for days. Residents and business owners were forced to close their businesses because they could not provide running water. The long-term impact of this on tourism in Donegal has been absolutely catastrophic. Despite ongoing issues, Uisce Éireann fails every time to communicate with public representatives. We have said this from day one. Like many other TDs, my experience of Uisce Éireann is that its communication skills are excruciatingly poor. The company cannot be contacted. People are left without water. Children are left without running water in their houses for days at a time. It is ridiculous. There is also the issue of public water supply to the islands. I am from Arranmore Island where there are issues with water. A constituent of mine on Gola Island has not had a drop of water in her house since May and she depends on people bringing water to her. This is absolutely unacceptable. Residents deserve basic services and they are not getting them. There is a total dereliction of duty, as far as I am concerned. There is no responsibility or accountability, and that is constant. The tourism season is destroyed in north Inishowen when the water is out. Nobody comes. Irish Water needs to inform residents of the current status of works and provide realistic timelines so that we know and can plan ahead. There is a huge disconnect between Uisce Éireann and the communities it serves, and it needs to be addressed. Communities have serious concerns regarding Uisce Éireann's services. It is clear there is an over-reliance on private contractors. High costs include senior salaries. There are clearly insufficient resources. The reality is that we must retain the skillsets of the workers to keep on moving. We have skillsets and workers who are being abandoned by Uisce Éireann. They are county council workers, and they deserve all the help they can get to keep the water running in County Donegal.

Sentiment score: -0.12