I welcome this opportunity to mention a matter which I raised last week in relation to the Adjournment Debate but, unfortunately, the Department of the Environment saw fit to kick to touch in relation to it. The Leader of the House knows I am referring to the problem of the water supply to the people of the County and city of Dublin during the summer months.
Because so many new houses are being built, the demands on the reservoir system are excessive, but nothing has been done to provide a backup water supply. Water pressure is also a problem in some areas and if there were a fire, water pressure would be dangerously low for fire fighting. I would ask for a review to ensure the availability of an adequate supply of water all year round to avoid the local authority engineers having to issue warnings during dry spells that water may be cut off or rationed. That leaves many people in very difficult circumstances. I ask the Leader to bring this matter to the attention of the Minister for the Environment. I am sure this is not just a south city problem. I hope he will be as concerned about this as the Members of this House are.