In accordance with Section 10(2) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, planning authorities are required to include objectives in their development plans for the provision of infrastructure including water supplies and waste water services. In practice such objectives are informed by consultation with Uisce Éireann as part of the development plan preparation process. Uisce Éireann is the national authority for water services pursuant to Section 5(1A) of the Water Services Act 2013 and is a statutory consultee for development plans under Article 13 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. As part of its role, it publishes water and wastewater capacity registers which enable planning authorities to monitor available water services capacity within specific settlements, which in turn assists those authorities in their development planning function.
Water services are also an important consideration in the development management process. Schedule 3 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 prescribes a statutory planning application form which requires applicants for permission to provide details of the proposed water supply source that will service the planned development, in addition to details regarding waste water treatment proposals. Planning authorities consider this information, together with any submission received from Uisce Éireann under Article 28 of the Regulations, prior to making a decision on a planning application.
A planning authority may decide to refuse permission where proposed development would be premature by reference to a deficiency in the provision of water supplies or sewerage facilities, or the capacity of existing or prospective services. Permission may also be refused where the proposed development would cause serious water pollution. In other instances, further information may be required from the applicant, or permission may be granted conditional on certain requirements being complied with. This may include a condition that the developer enter into a connection agreement with Uisce Éireann where it is proposed to connect to its network.
Prospective developers are encouraged to engage with Uisce Éireann prior to making a planning application by utilising the pre-connection enquiry facility. This enables the potential water services impact of proposed development to be examined and where applicable, confirmation of feasibility to be provided subject to any necessary infrastructure upgrades or works that may be required to facilitate the development.
The Programme for Government commits to funding Uisce Éireann’s capital investment plan for water and wastewater infrastructure on a multi-annual basis. The National Development Plan 2021-2030 highlights that almost €6 billion in capital investment will be undertaken by Uisce Éireann in the period 2021-2025. This commitment is reflected in Budget 2023, with almost €1.6 billion of funding available to the utility in 2023.
The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects at particular locations is a matter for Uisce Éireann. Its capital investment plan sets out a clearly defined set of priorities to deliver improvements to water and wastewater services throughout Ireland where they are most urgently required. This investment is intended to deliver significant improvements to public water and wastewater services, meet the needs of customers and support new development, while also delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine area.
The draft Planning and Development Bill 2022 was published in January last and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage has completed a comprehensive process of pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill. My Department continues to work closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to finalise the Bill, taking account of the Committee’s report and submissions received from other interested parties on the draft Bill. This process will include examination of any necessary improvements to the planning and delivery of water services as part of a reformed and more efficient planning system.
