Verona Murphy, as part of the Regional Group of TD’s has today presented a motion calling for the government to implement a strategic plan for water infrastructure.

Citing an example of a lack of joined up thinking in the Ramsgrange area, Murphy highlighted the importance of water infrastructure for both business recovery and addressing the housing crisis:

“We cannot allow any town or village to be in a position where there is inadequate water infrastructure to support development. We have a housing crisis which means we need to build houses. We cannot have leave ourselves in a position where housing developments or business developments could be rejected because of a lack of water infrastructure. That would amount to state sponsored negligence.”

In referring to the waste water scheme planned for Arthurstown, Deputy Murphy highlighted the lack of joined up thinking by referring to an exchanged between the Director of Services in Wexford County Council, Eamon Hore, and the Head of Asset Management in Irish Water:

“Mr Hore wrote to Irish Water and said “we ask that Irish water investigate the connection of the village of Ramsgrange to the new Wastewater Treatment plan at Arthurstown. Currently most of Ramsgrange village is served by poorly operated private discharge plants that discharge into the stream that runs through the village and discharges into Duncannon beack, about 2km’s away.”

Ceann Chomhairle, for those of you not familiar with Ramsgrange, rather unusually for a rural village, it has a secondary school of almost 600 pupils, a national school, pub, a large shop and a variety of houses. 

Here we have a village only 2 kilometres away from the new €13 million euro facility, where Wexford county council have identified, not only bad water infrastructure, but also obvious environmental issues too. Yet the lack of a strategic plan or joined up thinking means that Ramsgrange will not be included in this new scheme, even though it is in need of it.”

You can watch the full speech here: