Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2017
283. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the total funding available from his Department in 2017 for new group sewerage and water schemes respectively; the maximum grants available for each type of scheme per connection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8781/17]
View answerUnder my Department’s new Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2016 - 2018 there are six different funding measures. New group water schemes and new group sewerage schemes are addressed by two of the measures, namely:
- Measure 3 - Rural development (group water sector): This measure supports social and economic development in rural towns and villages and their hinterlands by providing new group water schemes where public water supply schemes or private wells are not an option.
Grants under this heading are 85% of necessary works costs, subject to a maximum of €7,650 per house. A supplemental grant is available in exceptional circumstances.
- Measure 4 - Transition of schemes to Public Water and Waste Water Sector (Irish Water): This measure enables group water and sewerage schemes, where they wish to do so and with agreement of Irish Water, transition to the public water and waste water sector. Grants of 100% of the cost of works for takeovers of group water schemes and grants of up to 75% of cost subject to a maximum grant of €6,750 per house are available for new group sewerage schemes. Group sewerage schemes are normally extensions of existing public sewerage (Irish Water) schemes and are taken-over immediately upon their completion. A supplemental grant is available in exceptional circumstances.
In January 2016, my Department wrote to local authorities, advising them of the new multi-annual approach to the funding of both group water and sewerage schemes under the programme for 2016 and beyond. In August 2016, my Department notified local authorities of the schemes being included in the programme for its three year period as well as final overall allocations of funding in 2016 (interim allocations were made earlier in the year in order to maintain momentum in the programme). The notification included new group sewerage and group water schemes.
It is intended to make interim funding allocations across the six measures, including Measures 3 and 4, before the end of March 2017.
