Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 November 2023
250. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding housing estates in urban areas that are not connected to the sewerage network; if any grant funding is being considered in this case; if existing rural programmes could be expanded to include any housing estate with a long-standing communal septic tank set up; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49528/23]
View answerI understand the Question refers to housing estates with Developer Provided Water Services Infrastructure (DPI).
My Department provides funding to progressively address DPI issues under the Multi-Annual Developer Provided Water Services Infrastructure Resolution Programme which is focused on housing estates which do not have their water services connected to the public network but instead rely on communal waste water treatment infrastructure provided by developers of the estate.
The aim of the multi-annual programme is to provide funding to local authorities to assist them in implementing solutions that resolve these legacy DPI water services issues thus progressively enabling these estates to be taken in charge.
Funding of €68.5 million has been allocated, under the National Development Plan, for the period 2021-2025, for legacy water services issues (this sum includes a small allocation for domestic lead pipe remediation).
In June 2023, I announced allocations under the multi-annual programme of over €14.7 million to benefit over 850 households. This was in addition to allocations in September 2020 of over €3.36 million to benefit almost 950 households. The two tranches account for almost 25% of the total number of households depending on DPI for their water services.
It will take a number of funding programmes to fully resolve estates with DPI, however, my Department is fully committed to progressing the taking in charge of these estates through increased funding over the coming years.
Separately, I recently announced improved Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems grant schemes. In these instances, where households have individual treatment systems (mostly septic tanks), the new grant schemes will, subject to their terms and conditions, support the resolution of defective systems by connection to the Uisce Éireann system where that is more cost effective.
