I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing Deputy Penrose and myself to raise this important issue. Moate, County Westmeath, is a town of about 2,000 people located in the south of the county. It is on the main road between Dublin and Galway and is situated about halfway between the two cities.
The community of Moate is extremely active and has a tremendous community spirit. It has worked to produce Tuar Ard, a fantastic arts centre in the town, and Dún na Shí, a thriving heritage centre. It has many sporting clubs, a fine school and a new nursing home. Due to its location on this main national route, it is a hub of commercial activity.
Each summer the town suffers a major shortage of water. The water supply has been intermittent, to put it mildly, in recent years and is a major embarrassment. It affects not only the commercial activity of Moate but also its prospects of future housing and industrial development and its attraction for people to locate there. I have previously described the water supply in Moate as akin to a Third World water supply. Many times during the summer it is not available during the day, only coming on for short periods at night. This is unacceptable. Something must be done. For a number of years various options were explored to find a new source and, at last, consultants have identified a way of solving the problem.
A consultants' report was submitted to Westmeath County Council. It received approval there and was forwarded to the Department. The report states that a connection can be made from a good water supply in Ballymore and that water can be piped from there to Moate. That would augment the supply in Moate. The report was sent to the Department in April this year. It received technical approval within the Department but it has been sitting on the Minister's desk awaiting approval since then. It is unacceptable that it should lie there for so long.
Why has this scheme not been approved? The long delay since April this year means that the possibility of having a quality water supply in Moate for next summer is probably in jeopardy. The people of Moate are not happy with this situation. They are a quiet, peace loving people but I wonder how long their patience will last. How long more will they tolerate this Minister sitting on his hands when, with the stroke of a pen, he can deliver a new water supply for the town? The Minister of State should tell the Minister for the Environment and Local Government that it is time to look after the people of south Westmeath. This scheme can be implemented. If he acts now, the water supply might be on stream for late next year.