Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 14 Nov 1996

Vol. 471 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - Ballina (Mayo) Drainage Scheme.

Dr. Moffatt

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue on the Adjournment and I thank the Minister for coming to the House to reply. I hope he can give the green light to stage 2 of the Ballina main drainage scheme.

The preliminary report on stage 2 of the scheme has been with the Department of the Environment since 1992 yet it has not been approved. Mayo County Council, Ballina UDC, employers, chambers of commerce, builders and developers, the unemployed and the ordinary people of Ballina are more than disappointed that the project has not been approved by the Department, a section of whose operations is based in Ballina.

Ballina has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the country, 3,000 unemployed people in a population of 8,000. An up-to-date advance factory of 25,000 square feet lies idle while other parts of the country appear to have no difficulty in attracting industry. There is a demand in Ballina for housing, which would provide employment, but this opportunity is stifled because of the failure to extend the sewerage system and make provision for surface water drainage in Ballina.

Stage 2 of the scheme consists of improvement works to the sewage treatment plant of a minor nature, renewal of old sewerage in the town centre which was not renewed under stage 1, sewerage extension on various roads such as Bonniconlon Road and Church Road, surface water drainage on Killala Road and Church Road and, in the quay area, extension of sewerage to main treatment plant. The improvement requested would help employment prospects and the environment and prevent pollution of the River Moy, the premier salmon river in Europe.

Fleadh na hÉireann will be held in Ballina in 1997. It is a great honour for the town. Approval of the scheme would represent money well spent. The Dáil discussed unemployment today and this is an opportunity to create employment and improve the infrastructure in Mayo. The Western Development Board has highlighted the lack of infrastructure in Mayo as well as the causes of unemployment. I urge the Minister to approve phase 2 of Ballina main drainage scheme and give the town a chance for the future.

Mr. Stagg

Ballina has a relatively new secondary waste water treatment plant, as well as two main sewer networks east and west of the River Moy. The scheme came into operation about ten years ago and has capacity for a population equivalent of 20,000.

A preliminary report for stage 2 of the scheme was received in the Department of the Environment in July 1992. The proposal, costing an estimated £4.5 million, provided for the improvement of the existing foul and storm water sewers in the town centre as well as surface water collection systems for the Killala and Swinford Road areas.

Deputy Moffatt will know there are many competing demands on the resources available for water and sewerage schemes both within the county of Mayo and the country generally. With a view to addressing the most urgent of the sewerage needs of the town of Ballina, the Department requested Mayo County Council to prioritise the various elements of the proposal outlined in the preliminary report. In June the council submitted a priority list of works for Ballina costing some £3.2 million. This is being examined in the Department of the Environment.

Mayo is a big county, with substantial water and sewerage requirements to meet the needs of industry and tourism especially. Nobody can argue that the county is not getting its fair share of the overall investment in environmental infrastructure. Last year, the Department of the Environment provided some £10.6 million for such projects and a further estimated £9 million will be spent in the current year.

I understand the Deputy's concern to have the Ballina scheme advanced as soon as possible. Having regard to the existing high level of commitments under the water and sewerage schemes programme, it is not possible to advance the scheme at this stage. I will ensure that the Minister is made fully aware of the concerns expressed by the Deputy that the scheme should be advanced at the earliest possible date.

As a Mayoman, I will advance the points made by Deputy Moffatt. He will be aware that during a period when another Mayoman, based in Castlebar, was Minister for the Environment, Mayo did particularly well. Ballina did not benefit to the same extent but we will try to rectify that as soon as possible.

Dr. Moffatt

Now is the Minister's opportunity.