Vol. 440 No. 4
39 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the backlog of group water schemes awaiting grant approval; and the action, if any, he intends to take to assist these groups in getting their schemes underway.
A sum of £3 million is being provided for group water scheme grants in 1994, compared to £2.5 million in 1993 and £2 million in 1992. This demonstrates that Government financial support for group schemes has been maintained notwithstanding the termination of FEOGA support for this programme in 1991.
Some 130 group schemes were approved in 1993; these will extend piped water supplies to over 2,900 houses and 720 farms. The increased 1994 provision should enable a greater level of progress to be achieved this year.
There have always been certain delays in approving a proportion of group scheme grant applications, due to a variety of factors. Problems of financing occur in relation to schemes where local contributions represent a small proportion only of the total requirement and further subvention is being sought from the capital provision for public schemes. Grant approval can also be delayed where a public scheme is awaited, or where the quality of water proposed would not meet prescribed drinking water standards. My Department will seek where possible, in co-operation with groups, to identify solutions to problems of this kind and to ensure the maximum benefit from the £3 million allocation in 1994.
