I could entitle this: "Water, water, everywhere but not a drop to drink without boiling".
The water situation in west County Wicklow now borders on the farcical. It is quite unspeakably bad. While the reservoirs of County Wicklow are virtually bursting at their banks because of the inclement weather over the past two months for what has passed, laughingly, as a summer, and the streams and wells are practically in flood spate, parts of west County Wicklow are now as parched for a public water supply as the Gobi Desert. In the Glen of Imaal people depend on a water supply that was put in place by the British army when it moved in to the Glen during the reign of King Edward VI. In Rathdangan the water supply could most charitably be described as episodic. In Grangecon, a sizeable village, there is no public water supply at all and there are private wells serving the village. In Baltinglass, which is an important market town with its own hospital, the water supply depends on the level of the rain. Wicklow County Council admits that the situation is unacceptable and that there should be a reservoir. The county council also admits that the low pressure in the town for lengthy periods of any given year could impede fire fighting operations in the event of an emergency.
The picturesque town of Stratford on Slaney, which should be known to the Minister of State, should be a tourism mecca. It has been placed first in County Wicklow in the Tidy Towns Competition for virtually all of the last 15 years. That is an unparalleled record for any village in any county in Ireland. The town has put much effort into attracting visitors but they are greeted on their arrival by Eastern Health Board signs warning that the water is unfit for human consumption unless it is boiled. In Hollywood, the gateway to the heart of west County Wicklow from the eastern part of the county, the same dreaded signs are there.
In a county which is dedicated to improving jobs and improving the local rural economy through tourism, the situation is unacceptable. It is especially unacceptable for a country that should be dedicated to having an acceptable standard of living for its citizens.
There is now the farcical situation existing in County Wicklow, especially in that part of the south and the west of the county where a Leader programme is in operation. One of the strategies to be developed under the programme is rural tourism, yet the most the basic requirements of civilised living, a proper water supply, is missing. For years there has been talk about the mounting problems but no progress has been made. For years plans have been discussed, plans have been drawn up and they have been shuttled backwards and forwards between the relevant Government Department and the local authority but no money has been put in place.
Tonight in this House I am asking the Minister of State, and through him the Minister, to cut out the red tape. A brave decision should be made. There is a substantial population in a large area with a huge potential in tourism. However, that potential can never be reached and the people will not have the standard of living they have a right to expect today unless a full regional water supply is put in place serving the entire community to the south of Grangecon and the west of Baltinglass.
I believe there has been too much bureaucratic delay and too much equivocation on this issue. I do not believe it would take a vast amount of funds to provide the water supply which is necessary and I ask the Minister to do what he can to help the people of west County Wicklow.
