I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, on his recent appointment and thank him for attending the House to take this Adjournment matter.
We had a good debate in the House earlier on rural development with the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív. We discussed many aspects of the lack of services in rural areas. I refer to the lack of adequate sewerage schemes, especially in County Waterford. A number of years ago seven villages were grouped together to try to facilitate the development of adequate sewerage schemes. An application was made to the Department and approval for funding was subsequently received, which I welcome. However, there is much frustration and concern about the barriers and bureaucracy within Departments dealing with various elements of the application. I refer, for example, to the acquirement of foreshore licences to facilitate the development of the sewerage schemes.
Cappoquin is one of the seven towns making the application. The county council has been told that tenders for the works involving the installation of a new sewerage network in the town must be forwarded to the Department on the new tender documents. I seek clarification on the matter because when the council inquired about the location of the tender documents it was informed they were with a working group and might not be available for a number of months. That is a cause of huge frustration in a town that is crying out to expand. The county council has set aside funds from this year's road budget to reinstate the roads to an adequate standard. This problem has surfaced and we have been informed it will take a number of months to deal with it.
I call on the Minister of State to inquire as to the barrier regarding the tender documents. If it will take the working group a number of months to deal with them, surely the previous system of tender documents should be acceptable to the Department? However, it is my information that they will not be acceptable. That is an unsatisfactory arrangement. We talk constantly about how we should support rural towns and villages. This is a practical example of how Departments can be more efficient in delivering the necessary infrastructure in an efficient, timely and cost-effective manner.
I wish to highlight the problem in Cappoquin and I look forward to the Minister of State's response. I hope I will hear a practical solution to the problem. As politicians, we are elected to resolve the bureaucratic tangles that exist sometimes in Departments. I am hopeful of a positive response from the Minister of State. I thank him for taking the time to hear me.
