Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 September 2021
285. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce a grant-aided wastewater scheme for community groups similar to the group water grant to assist those who wish to upgrade faulty or malfunctioning systems. [44905/21]
View answerMy Department builds its strategic water policy and infrastructure delivery programmes around the National Planning Framework 2018-2040 and the National Development Plan 2018-2027. Investment is primarily delivered through Irish Water while my Department operates the Rural Water Programme directly.
My Department provides funding, through the Rural Water Programme, to deliver improvements to private water services in areas of rural Ireland where there is no access to public infrastructure. The strategic objective of the Rural Water Programme is to improve the quality, reliability and efficiency of water services for rural dwellers in these areas. Private water services in Ireland include:
- Individual water supplies, typically a bored well.
- Group Water Schemes.
- Domestic waste water treatment systems, typically septic tanks.
- Collection networks, typically developer provided water services infrastructure.
My Department has recently appointed an external consultant to prepare a report on the provision of research and information, to support a review of the wider investment needs relating to rural water services. The complete report, which will be delivered by the end of 2021, will focus on the governance, supervision, funding and wider investment needs relating to the Rural Water Sector. The report will be used by the Working Group on Rural Water in its considerations of the wider long term objectives and needs of the Sector.
Complementary to Irish Water’s Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme 2020-2024 , my Department is also currently examining waste water requirements in the context of villages and similar settlements that do not have access to public waste water infrastructure.
I have instructed the relevant officials in my Department to prepare a report on this topic at a national level. This report will include the analysis of a baseline survey of all rural local authorities, to quantify and qualify the number of villages and similar settlements concerned. This process is at an advanced stage, and I will be in a position to consider the matter further in relation to these villages and similar settlements, as identified in the survey, once I have received the final report.
