George Lawlor: Urgent plea over €52,000 water charge for club
George Lawlor asks Minister Brown and Uisce Éireann to reconsider a €52,000 water connection charge for St Joseph's Gaelic Football Club's new community facility at White Rock Hill, Wexford. He warns the fee risks delaying a project that will serve about 1,500 local homes and calls for immediate intervention.
George Lawlor outlines the final stages of a new community facility being completed by St Joseph's Gaelic Football Club on White Rock Hill in Wexford. He explains that the club has been offered a water and storage connection for €52,000 by Uisce Éireann and describes the charge as unacceptable for a facility in a populated area.
White Rock Hill is a populated town area with roughly 1,500 homes nearby and the site sits alongside a main road. Lawlor stresses that the project is a community asset, not an isolated development, and highlights the wider benefit the facility will bring to local residents and sports participants.
Lawlor pays tribute to St Joseph's Gaelic Football Club for their ambition and service to the community, noting the project represents a milestone in the club's development and history. He emphasises the club's role in delivering sporting and social facilities for Wexford town.
He confirms he has written to Minister Brown and received an acknowledgement, and says he will engage with Uisce Éireann and the Minister to seek a reconsideration of the charge. The video records his appeal for personal intervention to ensure the facility can proceed without prohibitive connection costs.
Project details and request
George Lawlor outlines the final stages of a new community facility being completed by St Joseph's Gaelic Football Club on White Rock Hill in Wexford. He explains that the club has been offered a water and storage connection for €52,000 by Uisce Éireann and describes the charge as unacceptable for a facility in a populated area.
Location and community impact
White Rock Hill is a populated town area with roughly 1,500 homes nearby and the site sits alongside a main road. Lawlor stresses that the project is a community asset, not an isolated development, and highlights the wider benefit the facility will bring to local residents and sports participants.
Tribute to the club
Lawlor pays tribute to St Joseph's Gaelic Football Club for their ambition and service to the community, noting the project represents a milestone in the club's development and history. He emphasises the club's role in delivering sporting and social facilities for Wexford town.
Next steps and engagement
He confirms he has written to Minister Brown and received an acknowledgement, and says he will engage with Uisce Éireann and the Minister to seek a reconsideration of the charge. The video records his appeal for personal intervention to ensure the facility can proceed without prohibitive connection costs.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Victor Boyhan
Victor Boyhan demands meaningful public consultation on rural housing
Ruth Coppinger
Ruth Coppinger: Calls out handling of counselling notes
Joe Neville
Joe Neville: Protect Tourism, Don't Kill the Golden Goose
Richard Boyd Barrett
Richard Boyd Barrett: Ban State Funding for Firms Trading with Israel
Ken O'Flynn
Ken O'Flynn: Keep Politics Out of Sport - Let UEFA Decide
Rose Conway-Walsh
Rose Conway-Walsh: Occupied Territories Bill Fails to Include Services
Transcript
For a number of years now, I have been working with St Joseph's Gaelic Football Club in Wexford in the development of a fabulous new facility in the heart of Wexford town on White Rock Hill. They're just about to put the final touches to it. They've received assistance over the years, of course. But in the final touches, they've received an offer from Aoisge Éireann to connect to the water. And White Rock Hill is not an isolated area. There's about 1,500 houses on the hill. And this will be a community facility. But they've received an offer of connection for €52,000 from Aoisge Éireann to connect to water and storage services. As I say, it's not in the middle of nowhere. It's alongside a main road. There's houses all around it. Can I ask for your personal intervention on this? I've already written to Minister Brown and I've received an acknowledgement. But they're anxious to get going on a fabulous community facility. But €52,000 is just unacceptable. First of all, I pay tribute to St Joseph's Gaelic Football Club for their ambition, for their energy and for serving the community so well. And this project represents a further milestone in terms of the club's development and history. And again, I will ask the Minister and I will endeavour to engage with Aoisge Éireann to see can anything be done here to facilitate what is a very significant community facility but a wider community and which will be used by all.