Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
563. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of houses by county in the State dependent on private supplies of water from streams or wells and not on either a group water scheme or public scheme; his plans to afford all of these houses the opportunity to connect to a public supply or group water scheme at an affordable cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42744/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra564. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the grants per house and other grants available for new group water schemes that would connect to the public mains of Irish Water supply; if he considers this sufficient in enabling viable group water schemes to be formed in the last remaining areas of the State not serviced by a group scheme or public water scheme; if he intends on increasing these grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42745/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 563 and 564 together.
My Department builds its strategic water policy and infrastructure delivery programmes around the National Planning Framework 2018-2040 and the National Development Plan 2021-2030 (NDP). Investment is primarily delivered through Irish Water while my Department operates the Rural Water Programme directly. The strategic objective of the Programme is to improve the quality, reliability and efficiency of water services for rural dwellers.
The Programme delivers improvements to private water services in areas of rural Ireland where there is no access to piped water services. Funding is provided for:
- Individual water supplies, typically a bored well.
- New Group Water Schemes or extensions to existing schemes.
- Community Water Connections (formerly called Public Group Water Schemes).
Under the NDP, funding has been allocated over the period 2021 to 2025 for (non-Irish Water) investment in rural water infrastructure. This includes €175 million for the Rural Water Programme.
Under the oversight of the Rural Water Working Group, the Framework for the upcoming Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2022-2025 is being developed.
The organisations that are participating on the Working Group are the key stakeholders reflecting the importance and wide ranging impact of the Rural Water Sector. In addition to my Department (Chair), the Working Group comprises of: the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Health Service Executive, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes and the County and City Management Association. The Working Group is also consulting with other relevant stakeholders, including Irish Water.
In developing the Framework the Working Group considers how best to deliver funding for water services in rural Ireland. Once I have had an opportunity to consider their report, I expect to announce details of the multi-annual programme priorities including funding levels later this year.
Census 2016 indicated that approximately 172,000 households nationally (around 10% of households) have private sources of water (usually a private well). A further breakdown of this data by county is available from the Central Statistics Office.
