John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. A significant range of water services projects are being progressed in South Tipperary at present, with the support of unprecedented Exchequer funding from my Department. I am pleased that a record provision of €560 million, an increase of 19% over 2008, will be available for water services in 2009. This is the clearest possible statement by the Government of the priority being given to ensuring that water quality and water supplies are of the highest standard throughout the country.

In the case of South Tipperary County Council, my Department's water services investment programme 2007-09 allows for the investment of €95 million in water and sewerage schemes in the county over the next few years. In addition, I have allocated €1.038 million to the council in the current year under the rural water programme, mainly to improve group water scheme supplies.

Proposals for water supply infrastructure upgrades are being advanced by South Tipperary County Council for a number of locations around the county. These include the Fethard and Burncoat water supply scheme, the Clonmel town and rural water supply scheme, and the Ardfinnan, Galtee and the Dundrum regional water supply schemes. Funding for these projects has been allocated under the investment programme and my Department is committed to responding to the council's proposals as quickly as possible.

In its most recent drinking water report earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency identified seven public water supply schemes in South Tipperary that required detailed profiling from catchment to consumer, to determine whether the supplies needed to be replaced or upgraded, or where operational practices needed to be improved. I have already approved special funding for short-term upgrades the council has put forward for five of those particular schemes.

Alongside the extra funding and new infrastructure, I have put in place a new and more rigorous supervisory framework to ensure that good quality drinking water is available and that problems are dealt with quickly and effectively where they arise. Local authority drinking water supplies are now subject to direct supervision by the EPA. All breaches of standards must be reported to the EPA, which will also oversee the local authority's response. In addition to new enforcement powers, I have also given the agency the necessary financial and personnel resources to allow it to discharge its responsibilities vigorously.

I am committed to ensuring that good drinking water quality is at the top of each local authority's priority list. To back this up, I am providing local authorities with funding to upgrade their water supply infrastructure. I have also put in place a fully resourced supervisory framework to ensure that this infrastructure consistently yields the best possible results for the consumer.

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