Is the Minister for Health taking this matter?
Adjournment Matters. - Westmeath Water Scheme.
(Limerick East): I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for the Environment.
I thank the Chair for the opportunity to raise this matter. While not passing any reflection on the eminent Member opposite, I am disappointed that a Minister or Minister of State from the Department of the Environment is not present to reply to this matter.
This is the second occasion I have raised this matter. The Chair allowed me the opportunity to raise it some months ago. The north Westmeath group water scheme is a large scheme. It was initiated in 1978 and has passed through the hands of many Government Departments, Ministers, county councils and chairmen. The issue has ebbed and flowed, people have lost interest in it, subscribed and withdrawn money from it. The scheme continued in that fashion for many years until a determined effort was made in the past two years to put the matter in order.
To that end several meetings were held in Delvin, the central point where most of scheme's members live. The three Dáil Deputies representing County Westmeath attended various meetings held there. On 26 September a public meeting in Delvin was attended by Anne Byrne, the programme manager for the Minister of the Environment, Deputy Howlin, the three Dáil Deputies representing the area, engineers from the Department of the Environment, county councillors and a large representative group of the north Westmeath group water scheme. The matter was fully thrashed out and the meeting was fruitful in that we reached a conclusion. The points were put to Ms Byrne and conveyed to the Minister. Following that the group had a further meeting at which its members ratified the proposal put forward and matters have reached the stage that I, on their behalf, am asking the Minister to give the go-ahead to the scheme in two phases.
The committee unanimously decided to accept the phasing in of the scheme on the following conditions: that the scheme consist of no more than two phases, that the first phase be approved immediately for at least 50 per cent of the estimated cost and that phase two follow phase one — that it be a continuation and completion of the work.
In the face of so many years of delay, unavoidable in some cases and avoidable in others, the patience of the large number of people involved in this scheme is wearing thin. It is feared that the numbers involved will drop off unless the Minister gives a firm indication that he will give the green light to this important group water scheme.
(Limerick East): I have been asked to reply to this matter on behalf of the Minister for the Environment who is unable to be present this evening.
Deputy O'Rourke has made a strong case but, as explained to the House on 9 May last in another debate initiated by the Deputy on this subject, the scheme in question is a large and ambitious one designed to serve some 600 households and associated farms. The project consists of over 50 miles of trunk and distribution mains and involves the building of two reservoirs.
The history and technical elements of the scheme were outlined in last May's debate so there is no need to go into them again this evening. Since then the group has submitted a priced bill of quantities for the scheme showing that the total cost of construction would be of the order of £2.5 million. Having regard to the limited resources available for the group water scheme programme as a whole — £6 million in 1996 — and considering that a typical group scheme serves approximately 40 households, it can easily be seen that north Westmeath is quite an exceptional scheme and that the task of financing it is not an easy one. Nevertheless, the Minister for the Environment and his Department accept it is vital to the people of the area concerned and, notwithstanding the difficulties, they are anxious to progress the scheme as quickly as possible.
The Department of the Environment conducted an examination of the technical and financial details recently received from the group. They show that the only practical way of advancing the scheme is on the basis of constructing it over a number of phases. More recently, officials of the Department met the group and agreed on a phased approach to the scheme.
I can assure the Deputy that the Minister for the Environment will give the scheme full consideration in the context of the allocation of grants for group water schemes in 1997, details of which he hopes to be able to announce shortly.
The Dáil adjourned at 9.20 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 7 November 1996.