asked the Minister for Local Government if he will state in connection with the £30 million piped water scheme what charge it is proposed to make in respect of individual water supplies.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Charge for Individual Water Supplies.
12.
The charges for individual water supplies provided by local authorities are a matter for the sanitary authorities concerned. Such charges vary according to local circumstances and may be altered from time to time. It would not be possible to give an indication now of the amounts which individual authorities may decide to levy in respect of existing or future water supply schemes.
It has been made clear in connection with this scheme that, after the ratepayers have borne 50 per cent. of the capital cost of the installation of water supply pipes, each individual farmer who takes water has to pay a water rate in respect of the water used in his house and in respect of each point in his fields if he brings it into his fields.
I do not think that this is a matter that anybody needs to be made aware of. Whatever is the balance to be made up over and above what is contributed by the Department of Local Government will be made up by the rating authorities in either of two ways or in both ways. To make up the amount due locally will be a matter for the local authorities themselves to decide.
Is it not a fact that virtually every house in this country could be provided with water for far less than a capital cost of £30,000,000? Has the Minister considered that matter?
I do not know what the Deputy is trying to get at.
I am trying to suggest that this is a draft scheme.
I was expecting that adjective from the Deputy—I knew he would use it sooner or later. There are three ways in which this scheme can be carried out and in which we hope it will be carried out. There will be the individual connection provided by the householder concerned, with the assistance of a Local Government grant. The second is a number of householders with a group scheme to avail of the grants from local authorities and grants from the Department of Local Government. These people will get together and either by their own aid, by doing some of the work themselves, or otherwise, get the water supply for themselves.
Over and above these, there are, as the Deputy and the House is aware, areas in which this will not be a feasible operation. It is in such cases that the overall regional type of scheme, whether it be major or minor, will come into operation. All three methods of approach are in the minds of every sanitary authority in the country in preparing an overall survey of their needs, together with the sources of supply and the various other technical data in order to draw up comprehensive, all-embracing schemes. Only then will it be possible and feasible to decide which type of scheme would be best and most economically applied so as to solve the difficulties of a particular area.
Although it has been mooted before, there is no such idea, no such suggestion, that regional schemes are a must and that my Department is pushing regional schemes to the exclusion of all others. They are all supplemental to one another with a view to getting the entire job done in the best, most feasible and most economical way.
So, the £30 million scheme was largely hot air.
Is the Minister aware that the implementation of this survey has entailed an extraordinary amount of work on the officers of the sanitary authorities and that in consequence, there has been complete disruption of the normal administration of sanitary authorities?
This is developing into a debate on regional water schemes.
I should like to say in reply to the interjection by Deputy O'Sullivan that, without the knowledge that these surveys can throw up, it would be daft to proceed to lay down any type of scheme. It is absolutely essential that there should be a full and complete survey to ascertain the circumstances in every area before the local authority proceeds to spend money on any scheme. The idea that the burden being thrown on local authorities is disrupting their services generally is something which is new to me and which I do not believe to be quite honest.
It is quite honest.
May I put a supplementary question? Is it not intended that where there are regional water schemes these should be utilised for the purpose of providing additional piped supplies of water where that is the most economical method of providing the additional supplies?
Yes, certainly.