The European Commission has taken an infringement case against Ireland in relation to the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) which sets out requirements for the collection, treatment and discharge of urban waste water. A hearing in the case took place in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on 19 September 2018. Ireland made a number of key points including the burden of proof, the use of out of date information by the Commission and the exceptional circumstances arising from the significant contraction in the Irish economy which occurred between 2007 and 2010, all of which were contested by the Commission.
The Court’s written judgement is expected within six months of the Court hearing. At that point Ireland will engage comprehensively with the Commission and agree work programmes to ensure full compliance with the Directive within timelines considered satisfactory by the Commission.
The recent EPA report on urban waste water treatment in Ireland has found that, out of the 179 Large Urban Areas in Ireland, 28 areas failed to comply with the EU’s legally binding standards for the treatment of urban waste water in 2017. Over the period 2016–2024, capital upgrades and operational improvement works will have been completed or undertaken at all of these urban waste-water treatment plants to ensure that treatment levels and capacity comply with the requirements of the UWWTD. Substantial State funding is being provided for this purpose under the National Development Plan under Project Ireland 2040.
This investment reflects the objectives of the River Basin Management Plan 2018 - 2021 which outlines what Ireland is doing to protect and improve our waters. Among a broad suite of measures the Plan provides for €1.7 billion of investment by Irish Water in 255 urban wastewater projects which are designed to achieve compliance with the UWWTD. Of the urban areas where works are required, the majority will be compliant by end 2021, including Ringsend which is the single largest wastewater treatment plant in the country, accounting for 41% of the total wastewater load.
Irish Water has developed a long term investment perspective in order to strategically address the deficiencies in the public water and wastewater system. It is optimising investment decisions to ensure that they deliver the best possible improvements for the communities concerned.
I approved the Irish Water Strategic Funding Plan 2019-2024, without modification,
on 7 November 2018. This sets out Irish Water’s multi-annual strategic funding requirement of €11 billion to 2024, comprised of a €6.1 billion investment in infrastructure and assets and €4.9 billion in operating costs. The Strategic Funding Plan outlines the costs and revenue requirements associated with the implementation of Irish Water’s Water Services Strategic Plan (WSSP), the first of which was published in 2015 and the first ever Water Services Policy Statement which I published on 21 May 2018. This funding requirement will be met through a combination of non-domestic revenue, excess usage charges, government subvention, non-domestic borrowings and capital contributions. The Plan will be subject to economic regulatory review by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities as part of its third regulatory control period 2020-2024.
