Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me the opportunity to raise this matter.

The delay in completion of a number of sewerage schemes in County Clare, among them the Scarriff, Feakle, Quilty-Mullagh, Labasheeda, Cooraclare and Carrigaholt schemes, is part of a trend in rural Ireland where development grinds to a halt, homebuilders are put in a limbo and everything remains at a planning stage because of the failure by the Government to instil a sense of urgency in such projects. I ask the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to give a firm date on when such projects will go out to contract. These schemes are but the tip of the iceberg of the need for proper 21st century wastewater treatment schemes to be installed in the towns and villages of County Clare.

According to Clare County Council, the €13.4 million Labasheeda, Cooraclare and Carrigaholt schemes are due to start next year, along with a number of other schemes in Ennistymon, Liscannor, Miltown Malbay, Spanish Point,O'Callaghan's Mills, Bodyke, O'Brien's Bridge, Flagmount, Cratloe and the Shannon town scheme. If this is the case then 2006 will be an auspicious year for wastewater treatment in County Clare.

I doubt if this will happen. I ask the Minister of State to give me some commitment on which schemes will commence in County Clare in 2006. Currently ten County Clare towns and villages, including the county town of Ennis, are behind schedule on various sewerage projects. The Scarriff, Feakle, Quilty and Mullagh schemes, costing approximately €12 million, were due to start last year. According to the same timetable, the Doolin, Ballyvaughan and Corofin sewerage schemes were due to start this year at a cost of €17 million, along with other schemes throughout the county.

I understand that with regard to the Scariff, Feakle, Quilty and Mullagh sewerage schemes, the preliminary report had been approved by the Department and consultants were to be appointed to prepare contract documents to allow the schemes proceed to construction. Have the contract documents been prepared and if so, when will construction commence on the Scarriff, Feakle and Quilty scheme?

The preliminary report for the Doolin, Ballyvaughan and Corofin sewerage scheme has been approved by the Department and consultants were to be appointed to prepare contract documents to facilitate their construction. Have the contract documents been prepared and when will the contract go to tender?

There is welcome news that the Lisdoonvarna and Ballyvaughan scheme is ready to go to tender. The Minister of State must be well aware of the net result of this chaotic situation which exists in large sections of County Clare. This stifles development, creates disproportionate investment in our already congested towns and makes a mockery of the national spatial strategy. The Minister of State may regard the expenditure on some of the smaller schemes such as those to which I have referred as representing a poor return on infrastructural investment. The Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, implied as much on a recent visit to the county when he compared the cost per unit of wastewater facilities in villages and in large towns and cities. This is an unfair and invalid comparison.

We either have a national policy on housing and rural development which includes a spatial strategy or we do not. I can assure the Minister of State that investment in our towns and communities will pay dividends in the long run. I am aware of the problems people encounter when trying to build houses in these areas. The county council will not give permission for these houses because the proper sewerage schemes are not in place. It is a hindrance to planning, for instance, in Labasheeda. This beautiful village on the estuary could be another Doolin if it had a proper sewerage scheme and the same can be said of Feakle, where a health problem exists.

We are told there is money available. I urge the Minister of State to fast track these schemes in 2006. There is a pollution problem in the Shannon estuary and there is a risk to the freshwater lakes and streams which will affect the blue flag status of many of the county's beaches. This sends the wrong message to tourists at a time when the west in general is struggling to attract tourists.

In the flurry of paperwork between the county council and the Department, there seems to be an unyielding attitude at Government level that takes a great deal of time to eventually wear down. Statistics show that 283 private houses in County Clare had no piped water supply and 461 do not have the benefit of sewerage facilities. The policy relating to these projects must be overhauled as they are essential for balanced regional development.

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