Excellent progress is being made nationally in the provision of waste water treatment facilities to meet the requirements of the EU urban waste water treatment directive. Since 2000, waste water collection and treatment systems have been completed under my Department's water services investment programme in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway and in the major towns of Dundalk, Drogheda, Wexford, Midleton, Westport and Courtown-Riverchapel.
The recently completed Ringsend wastewater treatment plant in Dublin deals with the waste water treatment requirements of all Dublin city and south Dublin, significant areas of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Fingal, and parts of County Meath. It will produce the single biggest ever improvement in the quality of Irish coastal waters and will restore bathing water standards throughout Dublin Bay.
Other major schemes under construction, or due to start this year, include those at Cork Lower Harbour, Dungarvan, Tramore, Waterford, Sligo and Shanganagh. Schemes for Bundoran and New Ross are expected to commence in 2005, together with the Arklow main drainage scheme, subject to the outcome of legal proceedings relating to the location of the treatment plant in the latter case. Completion of these schemes will provide secondary treatment of waste water discharges from all agglomerations down to a population equivalent of 10,000 as required by the urban wastewater treatment directive.
The Balbriggan-Skerries sewerage scheme, which will also serve Loughshinny, is also due to commence this year. Fingal County Council's tender report on this scheme is under examination in my Department and will be dealt with as quickly as possible.
It was originally envisaged that two separate sewage treatment plants would be constructed to serve the areas of Rush-Lusk and Portrane-Donabate. Fingal County Council now proposes to construct a single waste water treatment plant in Portrane to serve the four towns, which will obviate the need for a second treatment works and sea out-fall in the Rush-Lusk area. The preliminary report for the Portrane-Donabate element of the scheme, but not as yet for Rush-Lusk, has been submitted to my Department but once they get the remaining paperwork, they will complete the tender works.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House.
My Department will deal as quickly as possible with the overall proposal, which is approved for construction under the water services investment programme.
The urban waste water treatment directive requires specific waste water treatment and-or collection facilities to be in place by 31 December 2005 for discharges from a graduated range of agglomeration thresholds. The current water services investment programme, which covers the years 2003 to 2005, incorporates all the remaining waste water schemes needed for full compliance with the directive. At the beginning of the current national development plan, compliance with the year 2005 requirements of the directive stood at 25%. This had risen to 84% by the end of 2003. Overall, I am satisfied with the rate of progress being achieved in the waste water treatment area in response to our obligations under the directive.