asked the Minister for the Environment when the proposals for the sewerage schemes at Summerhill, County Meath, were submitted and the likely date of sanction.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Summerhill (County Meath) Sewerage Schemes.
7.
Working drawings for this scheme were submitted to my Department on 31 January 1977. Having regard to the need to conserve capital for schemes of the highest priority, I cannot say at this stage when I will be in a position to convey a decision thereon to the local authority.
May we take it from that reply that nothing has happened in the Minister's Department during the past two-and-a-half years in respect of the Summerhill Sewerage Scheme?
The period involved has not been two-and-a-half years. The council submitted the working drawings on 31 January, 1977. I might add that it does not help the cause of this scheme or of any scheme in the county concerned that the council do not have a priority list. From the knowledge I have of the situation, it would appear that there are three schemes to be treated with priority, but it would help if the council would submit a priority list.
Would the Minister agree that there is not any sewerage scheme or any other kind of scheme from Meath County Council before the Department for anything like as long as the Summerhill scheme has been with them? So far as I know the only other schemes before the Minister from this County Council were submitted in 1979. Therefore, the Summerhill scheme is way out in that respect.
The time in respect of the latter scheme has been one-and-a-half years, but I do not have the dates on which the three major schemes were submitted.
It has been two-and-a-half years since January, 1977.