Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I will not have to elaborate too much on this issue as the Minister of State and I share the constituency of Galway East. He will appreciate that there was a unique decision by the members of Galway County Council in 2006 or 2007 to provide funds solely from the council for the Kiltormer sewerage scheme. This decision stemmed from the frustration of councillors, who found it difficult to get approval for a sewerage scheme in a small village like Kiltormer. There were funds available from development charges and the building boom in 2006 and 2007 so the council was able to make up to €1.1 million available for a scheme like this. I understand there were two small villages in County Galway earmarked for funding from the development charges.

There were efforts made by me, the councillors and, I am sure, the Minister of State to try to get group sewerage schemes set up with funding under the CLÁR programme but they all seemed to fail. In the case of Kiltormer, consultants were appointed, a site was identified as a treatment plant and the costing in 2006 and 2007 was approximately €1.1 million. I do not know what the figure would be today and the Minister of State might indicate if it could be less than that. A special fund was allocated from planning and development charges levied by the county council.

There were many reasons given for the delay in approving the scheme, and I would class many of these as excuses. For example, when cryptosporidium appeared in the Galway city water supply, it was given as a reason a small scheme like that in Kiltormer could not go ahead. I do not accept such a reason. There always seemed to be an issue about funding going to bigger cities and towns, and that is true even within County Galway. The needs of industry were often prioritised as well.

This raises the question about a scheme for this small village. The county councillors had agreed to provide the funding. They had won the battle for east Galway within the council. Many villages in that part of the county had been unable to make progress. As the Minister of State knows, Kiltormer used to have a particular problem with its water supply. This was sorted out when the Ballinasloe regional scheme was developed. Now that the water supply issues have been resolved, it is time to secure the funding that was made available five or six years ago. It should be ring-fenced for Kiltormer village. This would be an ideal scheme. If the funding can be provided, it will be possible to make a start on this project. I hope the Minister of State will be able to say whether this is possible.

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