John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I apologise that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government cannot be present and I thank Deputy Tom Hayes for raising this issue. A significant range of water services projects have been progressed in South Tipperary in recent years, with the support of substantial Exchequer funding from the Department. Almost €25 million has been provided to South Tipperary County Council by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government through the water services investment programme and the rural water programme in the period 2005 to 2009.

Schemes carried out in this period in South Tipperary included the completion of a water conservation scheme in Fethard and the progression of the initial stages of the water conservation programme countywide. This countywide programme involves putting water management systems in place to monitor water use and losses throughout the supply networks. This work will allow the council to develop a water rehabilitation strategy that will form the basis for the next stage of water conservation programme for South Tipperary County Council.

The water services investment programme is currently under review to ensure that capital expenditure under the programme is more focused on priority schemes to meet national environmental and economic objectives. Last year local authorities were requested to submit assessment of needs for water and sewerage services in their areas, including water conservation, to the Department and these are currently being examined. In conducting their assessments, local authorities were asked to prioritise schemes and contracts over the coming years based on key environmental and economic criteria.

An important aspect of the new water services investment programme for 2010-12, which will be published shortly, will be the targeting of investment on water conservation. It does not make economic sense to provide for further water supply capacity in areas with unacceptably high levels of unaccounted for water. According to the report service indicators in local authorities 2008 published last November by the local government management services board, the most recent figures indicate that 55% of treated water is unaccounted for in south Tipperary.

The Government has spent €130 million nationally on various water conservation measures over the past seven years. The new water service investment programme will build on existing investment in water conservation, which has largely focussed to date on putting in the water management systems to allow for active leakage control and better planning of mains rehabilitation. This work provides the platform for the integration of water conservation investment into the wider programme and a very substantial scaling up of activity in this area.

Local authorities have identified more than €300 million in contracts to commence over the period 2010-12, with further schemes to be progressed through planning in that timeframe. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will make this funding available as part of the next water services investment programme. This acceleration of the water conservation programme will allow for some 650 km of mains to be rehabilitated and will make real inroads into addressing leakage levels in local authority systems.

In this context, South Tipperary County Council has submitted proposals to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for water mains rehabilitation works for the areas of Mullinahone, Fethard town, Killenaule, Clooneen and Drangan. I understand that a decision will be conveyed to the council as soon as possible in light of the publication of the water services investment programme for the period 2010-12. The Minister thanks Deputy Tom Hayes for raising the matter.

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