Mr. Niall Gleeson:

I thank the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee for the invitation to attend today's meeting. As the Cathaoirleach said, I am CEO and I am joined today by Ms Margaret Attridge and Ms Angela Ryan who are colleagues in Uisce Éireann.

As the Cathaoirleach asked, I will comment on the Freemount water treatment plant where we had the incident. We are carrying out investigations and a clean-up operation following an incident at the Freemount water treatment plant in recent days. We fully recognise the seriousness of this incident and we immediately informed the relevant bodies and are co-operating fully with Inland Fisheries Ireland in relation to the investigation and the clean-up of this incident. We are also talking with the EPA and the National Parks and Wildlife Service and measures have been taken to ensure there can be no further discharge from this plant. We would like to assure the community that there has been no impact on the quality of drinking water as a result of this incident. Any spillage occurred downstream of the intake point for the plant and, therefore, would not impact the quality of water entering supply.

Our investigations are continuing on the plant itself but we are also expanding that to all of our plants that are near special areas of conservation to ensure the same sort of incident does not happen again. The circumstances of the incident are unusual and we are trying to ascertain the root cause. We will apply the lessons from that investigation across the rest of our sites.

In Uisce Éireann, we are responsible for the delivery of secure, safe and sustainable public water services enabling the Irish economy to grow and communities across Ireland to thrive. The Water Services Act and the subsequent amendment Act set out the arrangements for the delivery and oversight of water and wastewater services by Uisce Éireann. To deliver this, we work closely with our economic regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, our environmental regulator, the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, local authorities and other State bodies, such as the Health Service Executive, An Bord Pleanála and IDA Ireland. I would also like to acknowledge the continued close engagement with Uisce Éireann by Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas. In particular, I acknowledge the work of this committee in recognising a number of strategic issues of importance to Uisce Éireann’s ability to deliver on our goals, most recently in its extensive work on the Planning and Development Bill.

In line with the Government’s water services policy, our strategic funding plan sets out our ambition for public water services in Ireland and our capital investment plan set out our capital investment priorities over five-year revenue cycles. From 2020 to 2024, we have invested over €5 billion upgrading and improving water and wastewater services infrastructure and assets across the country to improve the quality of life for the people of Ireland, protect our environment and grow the economy. We are making progress against our plans. In 2023, works were completed on 42 new and upgraded wastewater treatment plants, including the connection of a number of agglomerations which previously had no wastewater treatment facility. Works were also completed on nine new and upgraded water treatment plants and hundreds of kilometres of water and sewer networks were laid or rehabilitated - all bringing enhanced, safer and reliable water services to tens of thousands of people.

We do not work in isolation. Our approach to planning and providing water services for growth, set out in legislation, is based on national, regional and local data, policies and development plans and is informed by comprehensive consultation and engagement with stakeholders and communities. We are constantly having to navigate changing legislation and regulation at national and EU levels, shifting populations and climate and economic developments which bring with them a number of challenges and competing demands both for Uisce Éireann and for the Exchequer.

Multi-annual funding is crucial to providing certainty to the provision of water and wastewater infrastructure across Ireland. On average, our projects can take between take five to ten years from design to completion, greater certainty provides us with stability in the delivery of our strategies, plans and programmes. We will require multiple cycles of funding to bring our water infrastructure to where we need it to be and then continuous funding to ensure quality and capacity can keep pace with demand.

Project Ireland 2040, together with the national development plan and the national planning framework, highlighted that sustainable water resources are central to the implementation of national strategic objectives and to underpinning our environmental and economic well-being. This is reflected in the fact that Uisce Éireann is delivering one of the largest capital investment portfolios in the country with a planned capital spend this year of €1.3 billion. Identified under the national development plan, the delivery of Uisce Éireann’s water supply project, WSP, is critical to securing sustainable economic growth, attracting investment and supporting housing delivery across Ireland for the next 30 years and beyond.

The current water supply for the eastern and midlands region is far too dependent on the River Liffey. As it stands, the River Liffey is the main water supply source for 1.7 million people in the greater Dublin area which means we lack resilience because we are extremely sensitive to drought and contamination. It also means we lack the necessary supply to meet the needs of our growing population and economy in addition to meeting the impacts of climate change. The water supply project will ensure that Uisce Éireann can continue to provide Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow with a resilient, safe, and secure water supply for the foreseeable future. Further connections along the project’s spine will service communities in north Tipperary, Offaly, and Westmeath. It will also facilitate the redirection of water currently supplying Dublin to Louth, Meath, Kildare, Carlow, and Wicklow. All in all, this project will directly benefit 2.5 million people across the country and support sustainable growth across the region.

Uisce Éireann welcomes and needs the approval of strategic infrastructure projects like the WSP to proceed urgently, so that we can be in a position to provide the necessary water and wastewater capacity in the eastern and midlands region and across the country, to facilitate the construction of housing, energy or transport infrastructure and to connect new homes, businesses or services, including increased demand from health, education or social services.

Public water services underpin all the basic needs of an open, thriving and globally competitive Ireland and there is much for us to do to modernise our water infrastructure. Infrastructure is expensive and containing costs relies on certainty, consistency and efficiency. Bringing stability to the planning system by progressing and enacting legislative amendments, finalising the reform of An Bord Pleanála and enabling it to make timely, impactful decisions around strategic priority projects is essential to constant, cost-efficient infrastructure development. We welcome the steps being taken to address some of the issues that currently exist within our planning system.

We are entering a momentous period having assumed responsibility for all local water services in 2023 and we are working towards an end-of-year 2026 deadline for the transfer of water services staff from the local authorities to Uisce Éireann. We want and need as many local authority staff as possible to join us, integrating their knowledge, expertise and dedication to water services to support us in rising to the challenges we face today and into the future as one truly national organisation.

This process is not without its challenges, however, and we are undertaking a nationwide series of engagements to consult the people and address any concerns they may have. Our water services strategic plan will be an important strategic document that will focus on the provision of safe drinking water and will ensure that the environment is protected from the impacts of wastewater discharges over the next 25 years. The plan is founded on a comprehensive study undertaken by Uisce Éireann in partnership with external stakeholders called Water Vision 2050, to explore how big change drivers such as climate change, digitisation and environmental challenges might impact on the wider water sector over time. Using these findings, the water services strategic plan sets out our approach to meeting these challenges, while providing value for money.

To conclude, continuing to grow investment in water services infrastructure is needed to keep up with and adapt to change and to ensure Ireland meets its economic and social environmental obligations. Support from the Government and Members of the Oireachtas provide the partnership that will allow Uisce Éireann to deliver our strategically important projects and programmes. I thank the committee for the invitation today and we look forward to answering any questions members may have.