Mr. Thomas Carney:

-----I went in and sat with Ms Bourke. She was very polite and very nice to me, and she said, "No, you are very wrong. There is no way you could be without a water supply." She pulled out a map. I showed her the village and she said I was wrong, and that she would meet me down there. We did meet, and we walked. She is very pleasant, and she said that she could not believe we were without water. I said that, furthermore, some of the houses there with poor people did not even have toilets. We had no water, so there was no need for a toilet inside the house. She said that this was going to change and that within a year to 18 months, we would have a supply there, and that because the treatment plant was so close, it would be a simple task and they would get it done. We had to follow through, get everybody's personal information, fill out the applications for the grant and the council would draw down the grant in our name. It needed all of this done, and we did it. We completed everything they gave us to the letter of the law. We made the timelines and we got it hand-delivered back but the council forgot to post it. We missed out on that rotation of grant funding so were set back for two years.

However, I am not pointing a finger. I am just talking about the frustration of trying to wash and bathe kids. General duties are hard, and they are made harder for the old people. We would appreciate the committee's compassion and understanding in getting to the bottom of this. Later today, the committee will be talking to some very educated people who are going to sell them a story but I am telling you, our story is right and you can verify any part of it. I thank the committee.