I am arranging to forward to the Deputy details of the water and sewerage schemes identified by Waterford City and County Councils in response to my Department's request to local authorities in 2003 to produce updated assessments of the needs for capital works in their areas and to prioritise their proposals on the basis of the assessments. These assessments are the Councils' most up to date and complete statements to my Department of their water and sewerage infrastructure proposals.
The assessments were taken into account in the framing of subsequent phases of my Department's Water Services Investment Programme, including the most recently published Programme for 2005 to 2007 which is available in the Oireachtas Library.
Local authorities have recently been asked by my Department to produce new assessments of needs and to submit the results to the Department by 31 July 2006. This will afford Waterford County and City Councils an opportunity to identify any additional infrastructural needs in their areas as an input to future phases of the Water Services Investment Programme.