Vol. 479 No. 3
21 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for the Environment the commencement date for the proposed new waste water treatment plants at Cork, Galway, Limerick and Ringsend, Dublin 3; the completion date for each plant; the capital cost of each plant; the annual cost of running each plant; whether the annual running costs will be levied to the tax payer or commercial ratepayer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12886/97]
Waste water treatment plants providing secondary treatment for Cork, Galway, Limerick and Dublin, are due for completion by 31 December 2000 to comply with the provisions of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. The treatment plants are at various stages of planning and are all due to commence construction by the end of 1998 or early 1999. The current estimated costs of the treatment plants are: Cork £60 million; Galway £25 million; Limerick £27 million; and Dublin £170 million. In advance of the completion of the detailed design of the projects, it is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the annual running costs of the plants.
The new arrangements for funding local authorities, which I announced at the end of last year, provide for the yield from motor taxation to become a dedicated local authority revenue source, commending in 1997. This source of funding, with other revenues raised by local authorities such as commercial rates and commercial user charges, will be used to meet the cost of providing local services generally, including the operating and maintenance costs of waste water treatment plants.
