Details of water schemes in County Monaghan that have been approved for funding by my Department are set out in the Water Services Investment Programme 2005 -2007 which is available in the Oireachtas Library. The schemes included in the Programme are derived mainly from regular assessments of needs undertaken by local authorities, at my Department's request, as an input to the overall strategy for meeting wastewater treatment and collection requirements. Local authorities have recently been requested to carry out fresh assessments of needs and to submit these to my Department by end July 2006. Any new priorities identified by these latest assessments will inform scheme selection under future phases of the Water Services Investment Programme.
My Department's draft Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Development Plans, which were issued for public consultation in April 2006, are explicit in enjoining regard for the existing and future availability of, or the capacity to provide, infrastructure. The draft guidelines emphasise that while services are not available, zoning for development should only be contemplated where there is a reasonable expectation of the services being provided in the development plan period. Land should not be zoned if there is no reliable prospect of providing key physical infrastructure, such as improved roads, footpaths, drainage and lighting to serve likely future development, within the plan development period or a reasonable time period thereafter.