I am indeed happy to be given an opportunity to discuss this problem this afternoon. First, I want to acknowledge that the Government are making efforts to carry out environmental works, as is evident from the debate which has just been adjourned and launched their environmental action programme on 26 January 1990. There is provision in that programme for the expenditure of approximately £1,000 million on environmental works.
I want to raise with the Minister of State a problem which could have very serious consequences if not dealt with. I refer to the pollution of Monalty Lake, Carrickmacross, which is a water source for the Killany group water scheme, outside Carrickmacross. The scheme supplies approximately 500 houses in that area. It does have a filtering bed which, of course, removes solids from the water. However, such filtering bed would not remove harmful chemicals which might be in the water. Because of that consumers of the water from the lake are vulnerable as any chemical substances finding their way into the lake tend to come through consumers' kitchen taps. There is no need for people to be concerned about it at present because, at this point, the water arriving in the taps is not harmful or of very bad quality, but in recent years, Monaghan County Council — who act on behalf of the Minister in the monitoring of water quality — have regularly advised the public that water from that lake should be boiled if used for human consumption.
In recent months a new threat to that water source has become evident in that the sewage treatment plant operated by Carrickmacross Urban District Council is inadequate for the volume of material it has to treat. The water from it, which I understand is very high in nutrients, God knows what else — I would not be familiar with its quality in every respect — flows into Lough na Glac. Lough na Glac is connected by a short tributary to Monalty Lake. Therefore, one can assume that some polluted waters already form part of the water source of the planned group water scheme. There is evidence of that in so far as green algae growth appeared this year on the lake, at the end where the tributary enters the lake. Fortunately for the scheme, the water is being tapped at the other end of the lake.
This year the Department of the Environment have grant-aided a development at this sewage treatment plant which however, will not increase its capacity. That investment was designed to improve the quality of the effluent. But I am informed that, even when that is operational — and the work is almost complete now — there will still be under-capacity at that plant. I am asking the Minister to take all these matters into account and assist Carrickmcross Urban District Council to increase the capacity of the plant by grant-aiding it in 1992.