Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting what is an important topic for me. While it may not be of interest or importance to many people, it is extremely important to me as it pertains to the place in which I live, namely, my native village of Golden. I am highly disappointed because requests have been made for many years for a new plant to be put in place for the sewerage scheme in Golden. Although it is terrible to say this in this day and age, raw sewage is flowing freely from a pipe beside the houses in the village right into the River Suir. The village is one of the most picturesque in the country and the river otherwise also is one of the cleanest. Moreover, the farming community has made great efforts in that area to keep it clean and to do the best for the environment. However, on arrival in the village, one can see that raw sewage from houses, be they public or private, is flowing into the river.

I am very disappointed that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, who speaks a lot about cleaning up the environment, is not present to listen to what I have to say. Over many years, his Department has granted money to local authorities to build houses. Although South Tipperary County Council has given planning permission for houses, that raw sewage still flows into the River Suir. I ask that a scheme be put in place to alleviate this problem. In the past, South Tipperary County Council has applied under the small capital schemes programme to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and has been quite hopeful in this regard. In fact, Golden was top of the priority list but alas, when it arrived at the aforementioned Department, it was taken out.

I am both extremely disappointed and extremely annoyed. I acknowledge that it is very late, at 11.20 p.m., to raise an issue such as this but it is an absolute disgrace to see what is happening. Over the past ten to 15 years, the Department has ignored it, even though the county council has sought to have this scheme included and dealt with. Since his election to the local authority in 1979, local councillor Councillor Michael Fitzgerald has raised this issue on a consistent basis. Nevertheless, despite his efforts and those of the engineers in the locality, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has simply turned a blind eye. This is not good enough as a considerable number of farmers in the area are involved in the REP scheme keeping clean their environment. Despite this, sewage is flowing into the river, with the blessing of the aforementioned Department. Shame on the Minister, Deputy Gormley, and shame on his absence from the Chamber to listen to what I have to say. Very few villages in Ireland could claim to have put as much effort into their community as Golden. Great effort has been put into initiatives such as the Tidy Towns competition and every aspect of village life, including development of the village, keeping the committee going and building the village infrastructure such as a new GAA field and a top-class music centre. All have been put in place and the only missing link is a sewerage scheme, which has been blocked by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I acknowledge this is not the Minister of State's area of responsibility but this is highly unfair to the people of County Tipperary and the people of Golden. If the Minister of State's response is not good enough - I understand how Adjournment debate answers are delivered - I ask him to make this issue a top priority for the Minister in the coming year.

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