Independent TD Mattie McGrath has called on the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy, and the Head of Irish Water, Jerry Grant, to immediately suspend plans to proceed with the controversial €1.2 billion Shannon-Dublin Pipeline Project. Deputy McGrath was speaking ahead of a two hour Oireachtas briefing on the matter that he has organised to take place tomorrow at 3pm in Leinster House. The briefing will be given by Emma Kennedy of Kennedy Analysis following her appearance before the Joint Committee on Housing and Planning earlier in the morning:
“I cannot over emphasise the scale of the institutional arrogance that is being displayed by Irish Water in terms of its commitment to proceed with this utterly reckless and wasteful project.
Emma Kennedy has produced several forensic deconstructions of this project that have demonstrably removed any justification for proceeding with it; yet Irish Water and indeed the Minister, have completely failed to engage with these findings.
What is astounding to me is that tomorrow morning I and the other members of the Committee will sit and question Irish Water on the project while at the same time knowing that it is has already made up its mind.
This kind of scrutiny after the fact displays a breath taking disregard not only for hundreds of millions of euros of public monies; but also for the functions of the Oireachtas.
At the very least the Minister and Irish Water should have waited until all of the evidence was thoroughly examined before it rushed to judgement on the advisability of this completely redundant pipeline,” concluded Deputy McGrath.