asked the Minister for the Environment the proposals he has to ensure that water shortages of the type experienced during this summer in east Meath will not be repeated in the future.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers - Water Shortages.
9.
Work is in progress on the east Meath regional water supply scheme — stage 4. When completed this scheme will provide additional storage capacity for the Dunshaughlin, Duleek, Kilbride, Ratoath and Stamullen areas. I have now approved Meath County Council's proposal for the augmentation of the existing scheme from ground water sources which will yield 594,000 gallons per day. To meet the future requirements of the area Meath County Council have asked the consultants to examine the east Meath scheme and to design a scheme which will meet the long-term requirements of the area.
Will the Minister state when the extra 500,000 gallons to which he has referred will be provided? Will that quantity be available before the summer? Is he aware that the Ashbourne area, which draws approximately 1 million gallons from the Drogheda Corporation, needs 2.4 million gallons? Even if they were to get the extra 500,000 gallons they would still be one million gallons short of the demand in the area. Will the Minister indicate when the extra 500,000 gallons and the other one million gallons will be available?
I cannot say at what speed the work will proceed but as far as my Department are concerned, provision has been made and it will be up to the contractors to see that the work is done as quickly as possible.
With regard to the further questions, there will be some easing when the Drogheda scheme is augmented. Additional water suplies will be available from that augmentation when stage five has been completed. Contract documents will be approved of by me within the next week. The completion date of that scheme will be somewhere around June of 1986. It is inherent in the plan that the total provision of water from that scheme will be 9,000 cubic metres per day.
Is the Minister aware that if the scheme now in the process of being completed by Drogheda Corporation is, in fact, completed early in the year, this will be a tremendous help to the overall water supply of the east Meath area? Will he assure us that his Department will treat this as a priority, particularly for the Stameen area on the borough boundary of Drogheda?
I can assure the Deputy that representations from his own county and County Meath have been received by me as to the urgency of the problem in that area and that any way in which I can speed up the matter I will certainly do so. As regards the provision of money for the various schemes, the Department have made a very generous allocation for this purpose.