Deputy Burke has given notice that he wishes to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of Questions Nos. 36, 37 and 38 on the Order Paper for the 24th November.
Adjournment Debate. - County Dublin Water Supply.
I am reluctantly compelled to raise the question of the North County Dublin regional water scheme on the Adjournment to-night. This is a matter I have been deeply concerned about since I went into public life. In 1944, when I came into this House, I was told that the North County Dublin regional water scheme would service all the towns Coolock, Malahide, Swords, Donabate, Rush, Lusk, Skerries and Balbriggan. Deputy Seán MacEntee, then Minister for Local Government, did his best and suggested the formation of a co-ordinating committee at that time and he was very anxious that this work should be done. That was followed up by his successor and again I had questions down to the then Minister for Local Government, Deputy Keyes, who gave me the same answer, that the scheme was still having attention. At this time it was very much shortened and I was told it would go only as far as Swords and Malahide.
Again, I had questions down when Deputy Smith was Minister for Local Government. He was interested in trying to get water for North County Dublin also and he gave the scheme his support. The present questions are further ones in this matter. I want to take this completely out of the field of ordinary Party politics, as it is a national matter as far as we are concerned in County Dublin. I do not want to put the present Parliamentary Secretary "on the spot," but Dublin is concerned for ten years with a very serious situation in getting water for the people I am representing. We had the usual parry across the floor of the House here on this question and it was asked why did Dublin County Council not carry out a scheme on its own. That is an utter impossibility. We, in County Dublin, are situate around Dublin City.
When there was first talk about the scheme, an inquiry was held in 1937 and it was presided over by Mr. Gavan Duffy. He recommended that a water board be set up to deal with the water position for Dublin County Council, Dublin Corporation and the adjoining councils, including Dún Laoghaire Borough, I suppose. In 1938 we were to get 2,000,000 gallons of water from the Dublin Corporation. First the Poulaphouca scheme came along and we were to get the water, then the Liffey scheme came and we were to get the water—but I see all the promises made by the Dublin Corporation and notwithstanding that they are continuing to fail to fulfil those promises. In 1952 the corporation told the county council that they would give at least 1,500,000 a day. That would facilitate them in the built-up areas just adjoining the city—Coolock, Santry, Blanchardstown, Castleknock, Portmarnock and Malahide. They gave a guarantee in 1952, when they acquired the land, that they would be able to supply 43,000 people with water. You can see, a Cheann Comhairle, by the trend of my argument, how much they have shortened their promises of 1938, 1944 and since. The last reply they sent to the county council was that they could not give any more water.
We want a housing scheme started very badly in Blanchardstown. Our council has submitted a scheme and tenders to the Minister for sanction for the building of these houses and yet the corporation cannot give any more water. You might say they have enough to do to look after themselves, but due to our geographical position I do not see any other way. I have given this matter serious consideration and every other Deputy in the House, no matter to what Party he belongs, who is representing Dublin County, knows that this water question is a national problem, the same as housing. Each one of us receives letters from people who have to drink water that comes out of old wells along the road within a few miles of Dublin. We have housing schemes in the county without any water. The council is trying to sink pumps and in certain areas, even in Deputy Rooney's parish, where 12 houses were built, there is a pump sunk and now there are about 45 children there who have no water and cannot get it there. Dublin County Council is not to blame for this position. It has become very serious and I appeal to the Parliamentary Secretary here to-night to use his influence with the Dublin Corporation to try to get a water board set up. If we had one and if it was as active as it could be, we would achieve what we want to achieve for our people.
Due to the proximity of the city to the county, the city gradually is taking over the county. The only way I can see this work done economically is by following up the suggestion made by Mr. Gavan Duffy at that inquiry in 1937, that a water board be set up. Deputy MacEntee was very keen when he was Minister to have a co-ordinating committee—call it what you like. It is very hard luck on us, within a few miles of Dublin, that a housing scheme cannot go ahead because we cannot get water. I have tried to look at this from the layman's point of view, as to how we could get a proper water supply economically. The only way I can see, as the city is in the centre of our constituency, is to have a water board set up, as otherwise the rates would be colossal.
I am not going to ask for any favours. We do not want to get away with anything cheap. We are anxious to pay our proper ratio for our requirements, as far as paying for the water is concerned, and we would do that by every means in our power.
It is a rather sad reflection that Portmarnock, within a few miles of Dublin, where thousands of people from the city go to enjoy themselves in the summer time, has not a piped water supply. It is sad to see that in Malahide, when the weather gets any way warm at all, there are complaints about the condition of the water supply that the Dublin County Council tried to put there. In Donabate, where thousands of extra visitors go during the summer time, there is nothing but septic tanks. In Skerries, in August, 1953, during the height of the tourist season, where you have a big holiday camp and where every house was occupied by some visitors from the City of Dublin or some other area around Dublin, notices were put up that the water would be cut off at 7 o'clock in the evening. The Dublin County Council have been lulled into a false security because they were told this North County Dublin regional water supply would cure all their ills. In Balbriggan, in 1953, the position was that the people could not drink the water unless it was boiled.
I have spoken many times on the Vote for the Department of Local Government on this question of the necessity of having clean drinking water. This is a serious problem and I want to take it out of the political sphere altogether. People might say that if my own Minister were there I would not bring this matter up now. I can assure you I would. I have declared war on the bad water system in County Dublin and I will use any methods at my disposal to bring about better conditions in the constituency I have the honour to represent.
Whom are you fighting?
I am fighting against the system that is responsible for having the people in my constituency drinking water out of old drains. I advocate that a water board should be set up to deal with this problem and let us not be ten years more before we can get some water for the people. There are factories around Santry which have very little water; they have a certain supply from Dublin. Every effort we made to build houses entailed a row with the Dublin Corporation. I am not saying anything about the Dublin Corporation because they have their own responsibilities. What I am asking is that a special committee be set up to co-ordinate the water supplies at our disposal in city and county. If we have not enough water we should at least have enough consulting engineers to see that there is a further supply. Whatever water we get from the Dublin area we will pay for pro rata as the people of Dublin have to pay for it. There are other members of the Dublin County Council here to whom I would like to give an opportunity of speaking. There is the ex-chairman of the Dublin County Council who has experience of this over many years. He knows what I have been saying here is true. I understand that the consulting engineers appointed in Dublin County to deal with this water position in Skerries and Balbriggan are still looking into the matter. This is only a piecemeal effort; directly we have a hot summer or any dry weather we will be up against this position again.
I am not asking the Parliamentary Secretary to perform miracles. His predecessors have done their best and I have no reason to doubt the Parliamentary Secretary will do likewise. I would ask him to use any machinery at his disposal to provide a good supply of clean water. The principal point with which I am deeply concerned is to have a co-ordinating committee or a water board set up so that people adjacent to the City of Dublin who go out to enjoy themselves in the suburbs along by the north coast will not be inconvenienced by this shortage of drinking water. As I said, we have been lulled into a false security in the Dublin County Council by the promise of this North County Dublin regional scheme. First it was to solve all our problems and now when it has been tried out we are not going to get any supply from it at all. Even a housing scheme in Blanchardstown is held up on this account. I appeal to the Parliamentary Secretary to look into this as a matter of urgency.
I would like to support Deputy Burke in what he has said here. I want to refer the Parliamentary Secretary to some of the assurances given to the Dublin County Council by the Dublin Corporation. The first one was before the Greater Dublin Tribunal when the officials of the corporation promised that they would meet the needs of the Dublin County Council in full when the Liffey supply scheme came into operation. Similar assurances were given by the city corporation officials at the public inquiry into the corporation's loan under the proposals for the Liffey scheme. The Parliamentary Secretary will find this guarantee in the records of those public inquiries.
The present north regional scheme was negotiated during the years 1945 to 1947 and at the final stage the negotiations were presided over by an inspector from the Parliamentary Secretary's Department. The city officials agreed to give the county council 2,000,000 gallons per day for the county area and on this basis the consultant in the county council designed his scheme. In preparing the scheme the consultant had the full concurrence of the city engineer who had to approve of it before the Minister gave his sanction to the final plan. When finally the Dublin Corporation extended its boundary in 1953 it was agreed that the county council would be allotted 250,000 gallons per day. The Parliamentary Secretary will find this guarantee in the evidence given to his inspector who inquired into the boundary extension. I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary to go into these matters and when he has done so he will find that he has power under the Liffey Act of 1936 to make an Order directing that County Dublin gets its fair share of water at a fair price. He might consider going further and acting on the advice of the Greater Dublin Tribunal to set up a water board for the Dublin area so that fair and equitable treatment will be given to all Dublin citizens irrespective of which side of any boundary they may happen to live.
In conclusion, I should like to state that this water problem is not solely a North County Dublin problem. It is also a South County Dublin problem and includes the Borough of Dún Laoghaire.
Deputy Rooney rose.
I do not want to cut out Deputy Rooney but only ten minutes are left.
I only want five minutes. The subject of this question which has been raised on the Adjournment is exactly the same as the subject of Question No. 36 which I had on the Order Paper the same day. It is a sad day when the representatives of Dublin County Council have to come in here and the elected Deputies for the county to ask the Minister for Local Government to see that justice is done between Dublin Corporation and Dublin County Council. The position is that some 20 years ago, when the housing development of Dublin City and County was planned in a general way, the question of providing a water supply arose for the houses to be provided throughout Dublin County, apart from Dublin City. It was agreed by Dublin Corporation at that time, particularly under the Liffey Act of 1936, to provide the full requirements of water to Dublin County under the heading of the North Dublin regional water supply. Dublin County Council, in good faith, undertook the framework of a general plan for the supply of water for North County Dublin. They appointed a consultant and proceeded with providing the framework of this water supply scheme, which has involved Dublin County Council in an expenditure of between £300,000 and £400,000. Now, having spent almost £400,000 getting ready for this North Dublin regional water supply scheme, they are told they will not get 2,000,000 gallons of water per day nor the 1,250,000 gallons, which were later promised, but that they will get no water at all.
In addition to that £400,000 which Dublin County Council spent on preparing to take this supply of water through its system in the various districts and towns of the north county, a further £43,000 was expended by Dublin County Council in anticipation of a water supply for Blanchardstown and Castleknock. That water supply was required because, as a result of a public inquiry, it was found that at least 100 services cottages were required in the Blanchardstown area. The plans have been sanctioned and the tender accepted for the building of nearly 60 houses at Blanchardstown and there, in the Minister's own office, that tender is awaiting his sanction. He cannot sanction that tender until he is sure water will be connected to these cottages. That is the position we find at the present time.
From a report so ably compiled by the officers of Dublin County Council, we have clear evidence of solemn undertakings given on different occasions at conferences between Dublin County Council and Dublin Corporation that a proper and sufficient water supply would be provided. Dublin County was satisfied to take 1,250,000 gallons of water per day from Dublin Corporation by these arrangements. When Dublin Corporation wanted to take, and did take, nearly 7,000 acres of land from Dublin County Council, once more the question of providing a water supply arose and, even at that time, we were assured that the North Dublin regional water supply scheme would be provided with the 1,250,000 gallons. In fact, on one occasion, when a public inquiry took place in 1947, the Minister himself got an assurance from the officials of Dublin Corporation that they were asking for a loan to go ahead with the Liffey scheme and that sufficient water would be provided even as far north as Balbriggan, Skerries, Lusk and Rush.
Only five minutes remain now for the Parliamentary Secretary.
I just want to say that, from all sides of the House, we have come here asking the Minister now to take action because we find that Dublin Corporation have dishonoured the pledges they solemnly gave to Dublin County Council when negotiations were taking place which were for the convenience of Dublin Corporation.
I hope that Deputies Burke, Dockrell and Rooney will not misunderstand me and my attitude if I must necessarily be very brief in my reply. I do not want to say anything now that would prejudice the possibility of an amicable settlement of this very old and troublesome dispute by the parties that should attempt to arrive at a speedy solution.
Deputy Burke has now put forward the novel suggestion that we should establish a water board. I am sure he will agree with me that that would not provide a ready answer to the problem. The time taken to get such a board into active operation and the time taken by any such board that might be set up to discuss the whole problem would mean further and perhaps unnecessary delay. The Deputy and the other Deputies who have spoken in the debate must be well aware that the water to be provided under the terms of the alleged undertakings or agreement will be drawn from the Poulaphouca reservoir through means already provided by Dublin Corporation for the supplying of the city and certain other areas.
I do not dispute the assertions made by Deputies Burke, Dockrell and Rooney regarding undertakings given by the Dublin Corporation in 1938, 1947 or 1953. It is possible, however, that whoever gave the undertakings, say in 1947, could not have then foreseen the housing development that would take place inside either the city boundary as we knew it at the time or the extended area as it is now known to everyone. Over 10,000 houses have been erected by the Dublin Corporation since 1947 and allowance must be made for the claims of the people now living in these houses on the corporation's water supply. However, I am satisfied there is very clear evidence in a document I read dated 12th February, 1952, that undertakings were given at a conference held on that particular date.
It is the wish of the Minister and it is my wish—in fact, I have a very keen desire that the people who are waiting for these facilities should be provided with them without any further unreasonable delay. The city manager is the city and county manager. In addition to his responsibility for the supervision of the administration of the affairs of the City of Dublin, he has overriding authority, as city and county manager, concerning all matters of this kind so far as Dublin County is concerned. The job of city manager is a big job. I venture to say that Deputies will agree that the man who occupies the post is a big man. It is the desire of the Minister, it is my desire and it is the desire of the officials of the Department that the city manager—who is the city and county manager—should take this matter in hand himself without any further delay.
Deputies may be surprised to learn that there is no reliable up-to-date data in the Department of Local Government on this matter from either one side or the other. It is desirable that agreed data should be supplied to the Department by the county council and the city manager if the Department is to intervene usefully in this matter. I give an assurance to the Deputies, in the short time at my disposal, that I will ask the city manager, who is the city and county manager, to take this matter in hand without further delay in the knowledge that he will get every encouragement and assistance from the Minister and the chief officers of the Department of Local Government in finding a very early solution.
Thank you.
The Dáil adjourned at 11 p.m. until 3 p.m. on Thursday, 2nd December, 1954.