Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 21 February 2023

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Revised)

Photo of Jennifer WhitmoreJennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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My understanding is there was a big project and then we hit the financial crisis which meant it was put aside and only the maintenance aspect was being looked into. A lot could be done there. There were plans to examine leaching in order to try to prevent contamination from entering the water source and other such work. The Minister of State mentioned a figure of €58 million. It is a really big project. Rather than providing that level of funding, only €1 million or €500,000 per year was provided for maintenance and preventative measures. If the Government was considering a larger or more holistic project, that would be a really good step forward. I would certainly welcome it.