Ireland is currently tackling two national crises – a chronic housing shortage and a water infrastructure crisis. If you weren’t aware that the latter is a crisis, then that’s a good thing. It simply means that you didn’t have to.
However, both issues are deeply interlinked, as a huge lack of water supply and treatment capacity is one of the biggest barriers to building the new homes Ireland desperately needs. Yet, despite this undeniable urgency, Ireland is currently sitting on €14 billion in Apple tax windfall money, which could be used immediately to address these pressing problems.
This article argues that political willpower, strategic use of this money, and immediate action are needed to mobilise some of this money and address water infrastructure issues head-on.
Ireland has the resources to make significant progress right now, but whether it will act remains uncertain.
Key Takeaways
| Key Issue | Impact | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Water Leakage | As of 2022, 37% (600 million litres) of treated water is lost daily through leaks in aging mains. | Use some of the Apple windfall to specifically support leakage reduction efforts. |
| Delays in Planning & Legal Reviews | These procedures delay essential water and wastewater projects. | Simplify planning and judicial review processes for critical water projects. |
| Leadership & Governance at Uisce Éireann | Criticisms include excessive bonuses that undermine trust. | Introduce oversight committees to ensure proper allocation. |
| Apple Tax Windfall | The €14 billion windfall is largely untapped and could be used immediately to address urgent needs. | Use a portion of the Apple windfall for urgent water infrastructure repairs and housing support. |
| Political Willpower | The government has the money but lacks the decisive action to use them. | Engage with political leadership that prioritises water and housing infrastructure. |
Summary of the Original Article
A recent article from The Irish Times (07/07/2025) discusses the challenges faced by Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water) in making progress with very important water infrastructure projects. Read HERE.
- The 2 projects in question: the Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme and East and Midlands Water Supply Project, are critical for enabling housing growth across the country. However, both projects are facing delays due to judicial reviews and very long planning processes.
- Uisce Éireann’s chief executive, Niall Gleeson, warned that these delays could have serious consequences for the housing market which is already under severe strain.
- Water supply shortages in Dublin, as well as issues with wastewater treatment capacity, threaten to ruin government efforts to meet the target of building 303,000 new homes by 2030.
The article also highlights €1.4 billion in additional funding promised by the government to Uisce Éireann, which was seen as a positive move in response to mounting concerns from the Construction Industry Federation (CIF). However, the CIF raised concerns about how effectively this money would be spent and whether it would address the root causes of the delays, especially planning delays and legal challenges.
The article concludes by saying that Uisce Éireann faces serious leadership and operational challenges, and that there is a clear need for simplifying the planning process and making water infrastructure development a top priority in order to meet housing demand.
1. The €14 Billion Apple Windfall – A Resource Ireland Cannot Afford to Waste
Let’s be clear – I will keep talking about this €14 billion until the State tells me to shut up about it.
Ireland has the resources to seriously begin solving these crises now. The €14 billion from the Apple tax settlement, which was received by Ireland in July 2025, is not just a one-off jackpot; it’s ‘free money’ that wasn’t paid by Irish taxpayers. And because it is separate from general tax revenue and public debt, it does not come with the same strings attached as other funding sources!
Yet, instead of using it right now to address urgent issues like housing supply, water leakage & wastewater treatment, all of it remains locked in the National Development Plan (NDP), allocated to long-term infrastructure projects without a clear sense of urgency.
This €14 billion represents a rare opportunity to rapidly fix existing infrastructure issues before taking on new or future projects.
One of the most glaring issues is the high level of water leakage in Ireland, which currently stands at 37% of treated water being lost daily due to aging pipes (as of 2022). This is very inefficient, and the scale of this problem is a serious obstacle to future housing development.
Fixing leaks should be an immediate priority.
If Ireland mobilised, say €1–2 billion from the Apple money specifically for the National Leakage Reduction Programme, it could significantly improve water supply while also making room for future housing projects. Fixing existing pipes/mains could extend the life of existing water systems and prevent further unnecessary water waste.
As vital as the Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme is, I believe that it’s counterproductive to spend so much effort on ambitious new infrastructure projects, without first making sure that existing infrastructure is working well. This is like building a house made of stone on a foundation made of sand.
It could only lead to more waste of resources and posisbly hurt the Dublin and Eastlands projects even further.
Water efficiency needs to come first. It’s a low-hanging fruit that could immediately increase supply exponentially.
2. The Planning Delays and Legal Challenges – The Political Will to Act
Ireland’s water infrastructure problems are not just about the physical pipes and wastewater systems. They’re deeply political.
The judicial reviews, planning delays, and bureaucracy that Uisce Éireann faces are symptoms of a larger issue – Ireland’s inability to act decisively when urgent infrastructure problems arise.
- Uisce Éireann has no shortage of resources in theory – the €1.4 billion in extra funding from the government is a step in the right direction, but how that money is spent remains uncertain.
- Also, leadership at Uisce Éireann has been called into question. Recent reports speak of excessive ‘perfomance-related’ bonuses being paid at Uisce Eireann, despite the company’s struggles to deliver projects on time.
While I believe these concerns about corporate governance are valid, they should not distract from the bigger picture – that Ireland is sitting on a €14 billion ‘jackpot’ that could be used immediately to speed up water infrastructure and vital housing projects.
If Ireland is serious about tackling the housing crisis, then it must put political willpower ahead of bureaucratic nonsense.
If the Apple tax money is deployed for such use, it can’t be that hard for the government to create a dedicated oversight body to ensure that this money is used responsibly.
Can it?
3. The Need for a Simplified Approach for Planning and Judicial Reviews
The Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme and East and Midlands Water Supply Project are both important for tackling housing shortages in Dublin and other regions. Yet, both projects face serious delays due to overly-complicated planning processes and judicial reviews, especially by The Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE).
While it is crucial to make sure that infrastructure projects comply with environmental and planning standards, delaying projects by 12 to 24 months as the article mentions, could very well hurt the environment more than help it. This is because the delays may lead to longer-term water shortages which could put public health at risk and cause infrastructure to deteriorate.
Uisce Éireann itself has called for consent processes to be made simpler. The current system forces the company to go through multiple consents/processes for every major project, and this delays development timelines by years. So yeah, this bureaucratic issue has real-world consequences for housing development.
To solve this problem, Ireland could consider:
- Reforming the Judicial Review Process now so that it doesn’t become an automatic barrier to infrastructure progress in the near future.
- Prioritising & Easing Planning Decisions for critical projects like social housing delivery, water supply, and wastewater treatment.
Conclusion – The Time to Act Is Now
The €14 billion Apple money is a rare opportunity for Ireland to fix its water infrastructure issues and put a big dent in the housing crisis at the same time. But without political willpower and clear leadership, this opportunity willcontinue to slip away, just as others have in the past.
Uisce Éireann and the government must act swiftly – fixing leaks, simplifying planning processes, and using the money strategically and immediately must be prioritised above all else.
Ireland cannot afford to wait another decade for solutions that are available right now. The housing crisis is urgent, the time to act is now.
