Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 24 May 1994

Vol. 443 No. 1

Adjournment Debate. - Ballinasloe (Galway) Group Water Scheme.

Mr. M. Kitt

I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise this matter and the Minister of State for coming here to reply. This group water scheme at Cappataggle near Ballinasloe involves 67 householders. I understand approximately 70 connections will be made if and when the Minister and the Department sanction the scheme. The water supply source for this scheme was tested almost five years ago, in 1989, and was passed as suitable. After that chemical and bacteriological tests were carried out and also passed. There were some difficulties about the amount of money for road restoration. These have also been surmounted and the sum has now been reduced to £165,000. Now that these problems have been dealt with, I hope the Department can give the go-ahead. A contractor was appointed for this scheme over two years ago. I hope the Minister will now see his way not only to sanctioning this scheme but to increasing the level of grant aid for group water schemes.

We have had grants at the rate of £700 for householders and £500 for farmers for the past nine years. The group water scheme cannot be completed without a special contribution. In all such schemes special contributions are made. It would make much more sense if grants were doubled and I propose that the Minister do so in order that schemes proceed more quickly. Many group water schemes in County Galway are ready to proceed but the grants package available is not sufficient to deal with them.

Mr. E. Kenny

It is a pity it is not in Mayo.

Mr. M. Kitt

There is a greater number of schemes in County Galway than in Mayo. We were fortunate in that one scheme was announced last week in the Ballinasloe area and I am pressing for other schemes to be undertaken in that area. This scheme is very good value for money. The Minister should recognise the voluntary effort of those providing a service for people who would normally receive a water supply from the local authority. The Minister should approve the grants and give sanction to start work on the Cappataggle group water scheme.

Mr. Browne

(Wexford): I thank Deputy Kitt for raising the issue of the Cappataggle group water scheme. This proposed scheme is intended to serve up to 65 houses and 60 farms. The group also intends using a local ground water source to supply the scheme. Deputy Kitt will appreciate that Cappataggle is not a typical or straightforward group water scheme. The estimated cost of completing this scheme is well over £500,000, a unit cost of around £8,000 per house served. Group water scheme grants are estimated at around £75,500 or 14 per cent of overall cost.

The area to be served is lacking in natural sources of water supply and far removed from the nearest public water supply at Ballinasloe. Two possible sources were identified, a local spring and the proposed Ballinasloe regional water supply scheme. The current proposal is based on developing the local ground water source.

While the group intends supplying up to 65 houses only, the design capacity of the intake and associated headworks, as well as the distribution system is considerably in excess of immediate group scheme needs. This arose out of Galway County Council's recommendation that the design for the scheme should be expanded in order to integrate with the council's long term water supply plans for the region. As a result, the cost of the group scheme has increased enormously and the scheme is no longer financially viable as a standard group scheme, financed by way of group water scheme grants and members' own contributions.

The Cappataggle project is a very large and complex one, requiring large diameter watermains and sophisticated abstraction and treatment facilities. Because of the cost involved, the scheme is extremely difficult to accommodate under my Department's group schemes programme since grants plus members' own contributions amount to less than 30 per cent of overall cost. In order for the project to be developed as a private group scheme, it would require a supplementary grant of up to £400,000 out of the provision for public water and sewerage schemes. Having regard to the existing high level of commitments for public schemes as well as high priority group schemes, it has not been possible to approve the Cappataggle scheme so far.

Deputy Kitt will be aware that in this House on 8 March last I indicated to him that arrangements for water and sanitary services schemes generally, including group water schemes, are being reviewed in the context of the operational programme for environmental services, now at an advanced stage of negotiation. I assure Deputy Kitt that we intend to look again at the Cappataggle position in the light of the outcome of the current negotiations.