Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 May 2023
92. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has plans to provide funding to Uisce Éireann to take in charge existing private wastewater treatment plants in private housing estates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23345/23]
View answerHousing estates defined as having not being taken-in-charge by local authorities or do not have their water services connected to the public Uisce Éireann network, instead rely upon Developer Provided Water Services Infrastructure, commonly referred to as "DPI".
Under the National Development Plan, for the period 2021-2025, funding of €68.5 million has been allocated to address legacy water services issues. This includes €56 million for the DPI Programme which was launched by my Department in 2019.
In September 2020, a first round of funding under the Multi-annual Developer Provided Infrastructure Resolution Programme was provided to local authorities to fund projects to resolve DPI in 26 housing estates across the country benefiting almost 950 households. Work is already completed on some, with estates now taken in charge by the local authorities concerned - work is ongoing on the remainder.
To build on the progress made under the programme, local authorities were asked to make further applications for funding for priority projects in their area. These applications have been received and were considered in detail by an independent Expert Panel. The Expert Panel was established and is in place, tasked with evaluating all applications for funding under the multi-annual programme
I expect to be a position to announce further funding for specific projects in the coming weeks.
