Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 May 2010
128 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 798 of 20 April 2010, the precise nature of the projects approved and rejected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18620/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraA comprehensive range of new water services infrastructure has been approved for County Kildare in my Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2010 -2012 published last month. The Programme, which includes details of contracts currently at construction, contracts to start in the 2010 to 2012 period and schemes to advance through planning, is available in the Oireachtas Library.
The new Programme aims to prioritise projects that target environmental compliance issues and support economic and employment growth as envisaged in the Government's policy document Building Ireland's Smart Economy — A Framework for Sustainable Economic Revival. A key input to the development of the programme was the assessment of needs prepared by local authorities, including Kildare County Council, in response to my Department's request to the authorities in 2009 to review and prioritise their proposals for new capital works in their areas. These were subsequently appraised by my Department in the context of the funds available and key criteria that complemented those used by the authorities.
The contracts and schemes that were not included in the Programme on this occasion were those which did not feature highly on public health grounds or other environmental compliance requirements (for example, those relating to European Court of Justice proceedings, or those which were required in the context of the River Basin Management Plans, Shellfish Pollution Reduction Programmes, EPA Reports etc) and projects that were proposed simply for capacity expansion and which in the case of water supply can be deferred, in many cases, in favour of accelerated water conservation measures.
The Programme will be reviewed and updated annually to reflect any emerging priority projects. This is intended to deal with investment requirements arising, for example, from the clarification of appropriate treatment for certain agglomerations from the licensing and certification process for wastewater discharges being implemented by the EPA, or from the ongoing monitoring of drinking water standards which may highlight risks which need to be addressed.
