asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware that grants towards the provision of water supply schemes under the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund have been withdrawn because it has not been possible to proceed with the schemes due to lack of capital allocations by his Department; if he proposes to take any action to have the FEOGA grants restored; and if he will make a policy statement on this vital matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers - Water and Sewerage Schemes.
11.
Mr. Treacy
(Dublin South-East): In the period 1974 to 1976 allocations were made from FEOGA to aid 63 public water supply schemes in rural areas. The relevant regulations required that work on the schemes should commence within two years and be completed within five years. I am informed that the European Economic Commission is now considering cancellation of the allocations made in respect of 18 schemes which had not commenced when a progress report was submitted last November.
The Department of Agriculture, as the authority responsible for transmitting claims and supporting documents, has been asked by the Commission for an opinion on the matter. My Department, in co-operation with that Department, hopes to make a case for more time to be allowed, at least for schemes which have been approved and are likely to be commenced in the near future.
Is it possible that the Minister, when renegotiating regarding these schemes and reopening consideration of older schemes, could have new schemes that have not been included now included for the coming year? He should be aware that group water schemes are becoming very costly to implement and costly on the people because of the lack of density of houses. I appeal to the Minister to ensure when he is negotiationg that the FEOGA grants will be restored.
(Dublin South-East): I give an assurance to the Deputy on that.
12.
asked the Minister for the Environment if he will give final approval for Rathmichael water supply scheme as submitted by Dublin county council on 18 March 1982 together with a commitment to provide the necessary funds to enable the scheme to be implemented; and if he will sanction as a matter of urgency the raising of a loan of £207,000 by the Council to enable initial works to commence on the scheme without delay so as to relieve the problem of severe water shortage suffered by many residents living in the Mount Merrion area of County Dublin.
(Dublin South-East): I have approved the council's proposals for the execution of an advance section of the water distribution network to be carried out by direct labour at an estimated cost of £207,000 on the basis of a loan application submitted by the council and on 3 June 1982 I sanctioned the relevant loan. This will enable the most urgent sections of the network to be carried out and will help to alleviate water supply problems in the South County Dublin area.
Dublin County Council are completing the preparation of revised contract documents for the proposed new reservoir at Rathmichael and working drawings for the balance of the water distribution mains.
I am glad that sanction has been given for the £207,000. I suspect that this question on the Order Paper had some part in that. May I draw to the Minister's attention the fact that all relevant documantation has been lodged by Dublin County Council with his Department in relation to the provision of the reservoir and Dublin County Council are at present awaiting sanction to enable them to go to tender for the provision of the reservoir. Would the Minister expedite the granting of that sanction so that the council may go to tender? This is a vital scheme to alleviate water shortage problems which have risen in the south Dublin area and in particular affecting residents in the Mount Merrion area.
(Dublin South-East): I give the Deputy that assurance.
13.
asked the Minister for the Environment when his Department will approve the Longwood sewerage scheme, County Meath; and when this scheme will commence.
14.
asked the Minister for the Environment when moneys will be made available for Longwood sewerage scheme, County Meath for which approval has been pending for a long period.
(Dublin South-East): With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 14 together.
Preliminary proposals for Longwood village sewerage scheme are under consideration in my Department. The proposals must be considered in the context of the amount of capital available for the overall sanitary services programme and the number of schemes in progress or getting to construction at the present time, and for which adequate finance must be provided, including Summerhill sewerage scheme, County Meath.
I cannot indicate at present when approval may issue to the proposals for the scheme. The question of providing finance for the scheme will not arise until the scheme is fully planned.
Is the Minister aware that both Longwood and a scheme the Minister mentioned, Summerhill, are awaiting approval by his Department not for six or twelve months but for a longer period? I appeal to the Minister to approve these schemes without further delay for the benefit of the people in those areas who require these services immediately.
I would appeal to the Minister to approve these schemes as soon as he possibly can.
(Dublin South-East): I shall do my best to have the matter expedited but I cannot give an assurance that moneys will be immediately made available.
(Interruptions.)
Will the Minister give a commitment that if not by the end of 1982 he will make moneys available for these two schemes, Longwood and Summerhill in the 1983 Estimates?
(Dublin South-East): I cannot give that assurance.
Would the Minister state the date when the preliminary proposal was submitted and also the date when the Summerhill proposal was first submitted, which I believe to be more than five years ago? What does he mean by saying that this is a preliminary proposal? Would the chances of the scheme be enhanced if more detailed proposals were to be made? Approximately how many houses will be capable of being served by the proposals?
(Dublin South-East): As regards the first and third parts of the question, I do not have that information to hand. As regards the second part of the question I do not think that additional information would influence the matter because if additional information were required by my Department it would have been requested.
Do I take it the Minister does not know when the Longwood scheme was submitted to his Department? How can he be serious in his assurance about giving the matter consideration if he has not even taken the trouble to inform himself as to when the scheme was submitted?
(Dublin South-East): The Deputy is being naive when he suggests that a Minister can come into the House with dates and sums available for every sewerage scheme and every item of expenditure. Surely he realises, having had such a vast range of knowledge of the Department of Finance, that such information is not always available to a Minister answering questions and it is a strange inference ——
I know that any Minister coming into the House will normally read his brief first and inform himself of the relevant information in regard to the subject matter of the question submitted. This is not a question that he should not expect to be asked; it is about the most obvious question to be asked about the approval of a group scheme. Yet this Minister does not even know when the Longwood scheme was submitted. I suggest that he is failing in his duty in this matter.
(Dublin South-East): The Deputy is being very naive, I would not suggest deliberately, knowing the Deputy concerned. I feel he is trying to take a rather coy approach to a problem to which he fully knows the answer. If he feels that anyone answering questions——
The Minister should have that information and he knows that.
(Dublin South-East): The Deputy may feel that. I have answered the question as it was put to me.
The Minister is trying to cover up.
(Dublin South-East): That is not so at all. The problem is that Deputy Bruton does not wish to be answered in a way that he finds embarrassing.
Is the Minister aware whether Deputy Bruton made any inquiry regarding this sewerage scheme as he should have done during the seven months he held the purse strings and in his capacity as representing the constituents of that area?
The constituents of that area indicated not so very long ago that they were extremely satisfied with my services and I am sure that at any future election the verdict will be the same.
(Interruptions.)
Order.
They are not very satisfied down in Oldcastle with Deputy Bruton.
We must have order.
(Dublin South-East): To answer the Deputy's question, regretfully I do not have the information as to whether the previous Minister considered this matter but if I had the information I would read it to the house.
On a point of order, we must be fair to Deputy Bruton. He was not the one who introduced the January 1981 budget.
The Deputy must respect the point of order. This is Question Time.
That may be so but it is not answer time.