Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 June 2016
186. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of infringement action by the European Union Commission against Ireland on the State’s failure to comply with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive; the specific actions required to be taken to meet compliance requirements with the directive; and the amount it could cost to meet the requirements of the directive. [18129/16]
View answerThe Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive sets out the requirements for the collection, treatment and discharge of waste water from urban areas/agglomerations. Compliance with the requirements of this Directive is reported annually by the Environmental Protection Agency in their Urban Waste Water Treatment Report. In September 2013, the European Commission commenced formal infringement proceedings regarding non-compliance with the requirements of the Directive in certain agglomerations. An additional letter of formal notice issued from the European Commission in September 2015. The response to this additional letter of formal notice set out the plans in place in relevant agglomerations to ensure compliance. Since 1 January 2014 Irish Water is responsible for the delivery of water services capital infrastructure. The Irish Water Water Services Strategic Plan sets out that achieving the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive is a priority. Irish Water has indicated that the total investment in urban waste water up to the period 2021 is expected to be in the region of €2 billion. This would be both in terms of addressing non-compliance where required, and ensuring continued compliance in all agglomerations.
With regard to the formal infringement proceedings, the current position is that 6 monthly progress updates are to be made to the European Commission.
