Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 July 2023
10. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he has put in place to improve water services since June 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33190/23]
View answerI wish to ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage about the measures he has put in place to improve water services since June 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The past decade has seen a significant reform of water services in Ireland. The policy paper on water sector transformation was published in February 2021, which set out our vision as a Government for water services based on the full integration of water services into Uisce Éireann as a single, publicly owned national water services authority. The objective is to deliver a world-class public water services authority that meets customer needs, operates in line with best practice, represents value for money for the State and facilitates economic development. The publication of the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2022 in December last year was a further significant milestone in achieving this objective. The framework for the future delivery of water services provides the basis for the full transfer of responsibility for water services from local authorities to Uisce Éireann. The transformation programme is progressing well; by 2026, Uisce Éireann will have assumed full responsibility for water services delivery. In terms of investment, the water services policy statement from 2018 to 2025 sets out the broad vision and policy objectives for the development of water and wastewater services in Ireland. Approximately 80% of Uisce Éireann’s funding requirement is met through the Government’s voted Exchequer investment in Uisce Éireann, which reflects the cost of providing domestic water services. On this basis, €1.56 billion is being provided to Uisce Éireann to meet the cost of domestic water services in 2023. The largest capital programme of investment in water and wastewater treatment across the country is under way. Uisce Éireann has a capital budget of €6 billion, but there is still a way to go in many areas to provide the decent water infrastructure needed to allow development and growth in those areas.
I thank the Minister for his response. I have seen first-hand the difference the investment in Uisce Éireann and in water services has made in many towns in my constituency, such as Castletownbere, which has a brand-new wastewater treatment plant, Courtmacsherry and Timoleague. The state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant in Castletownshend near Skibbereen has just been finished. I have seen villages and towns get wastewater infrastructure they never had before. In fairness to the Minister, he came through on a promise to introduce a scheme in which local authorities could apply for funding to improve wastewater infrastructure. There was the developer-led aspect when estates were without infrastructure. When small villages did not have adequate infrastructure, he invited local authorities to apply. I therefore cannot get my head around the fact that Cork County Council has not applied for funding to improve the wastewater treatment facilities at Shannonvale, which the Minister stood on with me, where excrement is coming up through the surface of children's playground. It is an absolute disgrace. I plead with the Minister to reach out to the local authority to find a solution as fast as possible.
I have brought forward the unserved villages. I expect to make announcements in the short term around that; it is the first €50 million outside of the capital programme for Irish Water. I visited Shannonvale with the Deputy. The situation there is intolerable. I have been back to Uisce Éireann. It will provide the stage 1 strategic assessment, which will move it on to stage 2, but the local authority has to engage on this. Some solution has got to be found in the short term for homeowners, whom I had the pleasure of meeting with the Deputy.
We have made a lot of progress in west Cork. The Deputy has outlined a number of the schemes we have brought forward. I will continue to work with him and the residents of Shannonvale. I am acutely aware that I met them on the ground. We are trying to bring Uisce Éireann, the local authority and the Department together on this because the situation is absolutely intolerable. A public playground in the area is closed because of the leakage, effectively, of sewage into the vicinity. That situation should not be allowed to continue.
The Minister has described the situation perfectly. We went there with news that these two schemes could be availed of by the local authority. I think we all took heart from that because I do not see how you could get more urgent than a situation in which sewage is coming up through the surface of a children's play area, which has been closed. Shannonvale is not a big village. It has only that one public space, that safe space, for families and for kids to play in and it has been ruled completely out of bounds because of this issue. Again, I plead with the Minister. They have not applied under this tranche of funding - I do not know why - and, therefore, will not get funding under these schemes. I suggest that the Minister reach out to the local authority because of that health and safety issue.
Another village, Drinagh, just needs a wastewater treatment facility. Could the Minister just check that for me to see if it is anywhere in any capital plan?
I will keep this generalised. There are huge issues. We have very old housing estates with, in some cases, legacy sewerage systems, both the public line and the individual run of houses, too many houses on the one line, the wrong types of piping and so on. In my estate there is a huge number of issues and sometimes the responsibility lies literally with the person who owns the house. Sometimes that can create huge difficulties. I think we will have to find some sort of framework to deal with this issue. I know that a number of these issues have been sorted by dealing with Uisce Éireann and the local authority. That is why I will not mention particular areas. This is, however, a particular issue in the town of Dundalk.
Understood.
To respond to Deputy O'Sullivan, he is correct that for whatever reason, the local authority did not apply for Shannonvale to enter into the scheme I brought forward. Post Question Time, however, and with regard to Drinagh, I will follow up particularly with Shannonvale. I will reach out again to the local authority. We need to get Uisce Éireann and the local authority meeting on this situation. I would go so far as to say there is a public health issue here, and a very serious one at that, and the situation cannot be allowed continue. I do expect to make announcements on the other schemes imminently. We did not get as many applications right across the country as one would have expected, to be frank.
In response to Deputy Ó Murchú, I take the point. We do have the largest investment programme in water services under way, with about €6 billion through Uisce Éireann on the capital side. That will also require upgrades to existing sewer networks, which is happening right across the country for older infrastructure that is in place. If the Deputy wants to raise any specific items with me, he should feel free to do so.
