I propose to take Question Nos. 246 to 248, inclusive, and 253 together.
The Water Services Investment Programme 2010-2012, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library, provides for the development of a comprehensive range of new water services infrastructure in County Clare. The Programme includes contracts under construction and to commence to the value of some €38 million in the county during the period of the Programme.
Phases 1 and 2 of the Ennis / Clarecastle Sewerage Scheme are included in the Programme to advance through planning over the course of the Programme. Last April my Department issued approval to Clare County Council to extend the brief of its consultants to review the Preliminary Report for the Scheme. This will allow the precise scope of the Scheme to be defined, taking cognisance of the Ennis and environs development plan. Any priority contracts which emerge through this process will be considered for inclusion for commencement under the new annual review process included for the first time in the Water Services Investment Programme 2010-2012.
However, it was not possible to include the Carrigaholt, Broadford and Doolin Sewerage Schemes amongst the priority contracts and schemes selected for inclusion in the Programme. The new Programme prioritises projects that target environmental compliance issues and support economic and employment growth as envisaged in the Government's policy document Building Ireland's Smart Economy — A Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal. A key input to the development of the Programme was the assessment of needs prepared by local authorities, including Clare County Council, in response to my Department's request to the authorities in 2009 to review and prioritise their proposals for new capital works in their areas. These were subsequently appraised in the Department in the context of the funds available and key criteria that complemented those used by the authorities. Inevitably, through this process, certain projects that had been proposed had to give way to others that are more strategically important at this time.