Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

The Doolin sewerage scheme, which is being advanced as a grouped project with schemes for Ballyvaughan and Corofin, is approved for funding in the Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2005 — 2007. The estimated cost of the schemes is €17.5 million, the vast bulk of which the Department will be funding. Doolin is one of more than 20 schemes being put in place to provide modern water and wastewater services in almost 40 different areas of the county. The overall value of this package is €196 million and it will make a huge difference to environmental standards and development opportunities all over Clare.

The Doolin-Ballyvaughan-Corofin project will provide new wastewater treatment plants for each of the three locations, as well as new and improved sewage collection networks. The modern wastewater infrastructure being put in place will be able to cater for the current population, as well as having spare capacity to accommodate future needs. It will play a major role in facilitating development and supporting the tourism sector, which is of paramount importance in these parts of Clare.

High unit costs have been an issue with a number of sewerage schemes in Clare and have required careful fine-tuning to bring the costs down to a level where they could be justified in economic terms. This was successfully achieved with the Feakle-Scarriff-Quilty scheme where the Exchequer contribution has been agreed and the council is now in the process of inviting tenders for the collection systems. It should soon also be able to go to tender for the treatment plants.

The same issue of affordability has arisen with the Doolin-Ballyvaughan-Corofin project, although the costs in this case are much less severe and will be easier to resolve. Clare County Council was asked by the Department to review the costings for the three areas and to make any necessary adjustments to the proposals to ensure that the most cost-effective solutions were being put forward for Exchequer funding. The council's response is being examined in the Department and I expect it to be able to respond later this month. I am optimistic that the response will be positive.

I am also aware that the council has applied to the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources for foreshore licences for the Doolin and Ballyvaughan schemes where the discharges will be into the sea. The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has consulted my Department's national parks and wildlife section, NPWS, because of the possible impact of the sea outfalls on special areas of conservation, SAC. As part of this process, the council intends meeting NPWS shortly to discuss how best the SAC dimension can be dealt with and I hope these discussions will pave the way for early approval of the foreshore licences.

I emphasise that the funding has been allocated for these schemes and it is now a matter of getting them through the planning and procurement stages as quickly as possible. I will do everything I can to be of assistance in that regard. Once the foreshore licences are in place, the council will be able to prepare contract documents and then move on to tender stage. I understand Deputy Pat Breen's desire to see the works starting as quickly as possible and I look forward to and hope we can expect early progress in that direction.

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