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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 30 Nov 1993

Vol. 436 No. 4

Written Answers. - Water Quality.

Michael Lowry

Ceist:

138 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for the Environment if he has studied the recent report on water quality problems in Lough Derg and the Upper Shannon System to Athlone; the specific action, if any, he proposes to take on the conclusions and recommendations; the time frame he intends to put on those recommendations; and the amount of Cohesion Fund grants he expects to be allocated.

Michael Lowry

Ceist:

139 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for the Environment when he will make Cohesion Funds available to the relevant agencies to deal with the water quality problems of Lough Derg and the River Shannon, as established in a recent study which he launched on 23 September 1993, in Ballina, Killaloe; and the amount of funding he will allocate to deal with the problems.

Michael Lowry

Ceist:

165 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for the Environment the amount of money he expects to release from the new Cohesion Funds to deal with the water quality problems on the upper Shannon and Lough Derg as indicated in a recent definitive study.

Wexford): I propose to take Questions Nos. 138, 139 and 165 together.

The requirements identified in the Lough Derg report are being addressed at a number of levels. Matters relating to industrial treatment plants and farm surveys are being considered by the local authorities concerned in the context of water licence reviews and the programme of farm surveys respectively.

Discussions are taking place in a national context with the Irish Detergent and Allied Products Association regarding promoting the use of phosphate free detergents. Considerable progress has been made in the increased use domestically of phosphate-free products which now represent about 40 per cent of overall domestic consumption of washing powders and liquids. This compares with 1988 when virtually all products on domestic usage contained phosphates.

As regards pump out stations, a programme to provide sewage pump out stations at marinas along the Shannon and Grand Canal, which links with the Shannon at Shannonbridge, is currently being promoted by my Department. Popular marinas such as Mountshannon, Dromineer, Portumna, Athlone, Carrick-on-Shannon, Tullamore, Edenderry and Shannonbridge will shortly have their pump out facilities available for use by private and fleet cruiser operators.

With regard to funding for phosphorus removal facilities in sewage treatment works, my Department is currently finalising the preparation of the Environmental Services Operational Programme 1994-99 and considering needs generally under the EC Urban Waste Water Directive. The possibility of proposing a package of measures for the Lough Derg catchment and other areas is being considered in the context of the Cohesion Fund. I cannot at this stage indicate the amount of funding that may be available or the timeframe involved.
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