Vol. 452 No. 2
3 Miss Quill asked the Minister for the Environment the measures, if any, he intends to initiate to tackle the deterioration in water quality in Lough Derg and to implement the findings of the water quality report on Lough Derg. [7650/95]
A range of measures, aimed primarily at sewage treatment and control of agricultural inputs, is being taken to tackle water pollution in Lough Derg.
Regarding sewage treatment, some £20 million has been invested in recent years on measures which will improve water quality in Lough Derg: secondary treatment has been provided at Athlone, Ballina, Ballinasloe, Birr, Tullamore and Nenagh. A major application for EU Cohesion Fund financing has been submitted to the European Commission for further projects which will cost some £30 million; these include schemes at Roscrea, Portumna, Clara, Ferbane, Castlerea, Moate, Scarriff, Banagher and Killaloe, as well as the upgrading of facilities and the installation of phosphorous removal at a number of other sites.
Regarding agricultural pollution measures, both the REPS and the control of farmyard pollution scheme will provide important assistance in minimising farming inputs. A code of practice for nitrates will be available shortly.
Regarding other aspects, my Department has been financing a programme to provide pump-out facilities for wastes from pleasure craft in the Shannon system. Facilities have been provided at Mountshannon, Dromineer, Athlone, Ballina/Killaloe, Carrick-on-Shannon, Shannonbridge, Tullamore and Edenderry. Facilities will be provided at Portumna and Ballyleague in conjunction with sewage treatment proposals.
Discussions will shortly be concluded with the Irish Detergent and Allied Products Association regarding the further promotion of the use of phosphate-free detergents. Considerable progress has been made in the increased use domestically of phosphate-free products which now represent about 40 per cent of the overall domestic consumption of washing powders and liquids.
Co-ordination of local measures and initiatives for the improvement of Lough Derg water quality is being undertaken by the Mid-West Regional Authority. In line with the Government's lake catchment management initiative, I am currently developing specific proposals for new and more extensive co-operation and other management which will operate initially on a pilot basis at regional level. I will be considering, at the appropriate time, whether such arrangements might apply to Lough Derg but it certainly strikes me as a most suitable client.
I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply and I commend him for the action that has been taken to date. However, despite that action the reality is that the quality of water in Lough Derg continues to be far below standard and much work remains to be done. Will the £30 million applied for be made available this year? Is the Minister's Department prepared to initiate further action? Will the Department put a time frame in place for the completion of all the tertiary plants that are needed to properly clean the water? When will the Department be releasing funds? I understand that a sum of £10.5 million was promised in respect of the Minister's Department for 1995. Will that sum be spent this year?
In relation to the Cohesion Fund application, to comply with European regulations on Cohesion Funding we are amalgamating a number of schemes in a catchment area. I believe this a good way to deal with the issue because we are not dealing with effluent from a single town but an entire water system. The pollution, therefore, will be contained in a comprehensive, all-embracing way. I had a meeting last week with the regional affairs Commissioner, Madame Wulf-Mathies. She assures me of the priority of water treatment and the focus on that. The funding will account for some 60 per cent of this country's total spending on water and is a considerable sum of money. In the listing we have submitted to the Commission, the particular catchment area I have outlined and all those treatment plants are of significant priority. I hope to have word from the Commission on the projects that are approved either during the month of May or early June.
That seems to be a satisfactory answer from the Minister. Will he indicate when a programme of works can be put in place? Having brought the water in Lough Derg up to standard, what additional measures is the Minister prepared to take by way of intervention to ensure that products do not enter the water in the future? He referred to detergents using phosphates but 45 per cent of all the phosphates that have entered that lake are attributed directly to detergents used either domestically or by the dairy industry. Is the Minister prepared to take the bold step, as Deputy Harney did in relation to smokey coal in Dublin, of banning outright the use of all detergents that contain this level of phosphates?
As part of our new approach to sustainable development I am determined to take action in regard to catchment management initiatives. I am currently examining the major lake systems and I believe it will be necessary to give the regional authorities a function, on a cross-country basis, which will involve them in a major clean-up of even the minor damage that has already occurred. This will involve all the elements, not only dealing with sewage pollution which obviously comes directly under my control and for which I will be allocating funds as soon as they are available, but also the agricultural organisations which will have to learn how best to apply nutrients to the soil in order to avoid eutrophication, which continues to be a significant problem. That will be part of a major set of initiatives that I will outline later this year.
In relation to phosphates in detergents, if we do not get a voluntary code I have already made it clear to my officials that we will act on a statutory basis to enforce a code.
