Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter . I am responding on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. The water services investment programme, which is administered by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, is the principal means by which the strategic objectives of capital investment in water and waste water services are achieved. A rolling three-year programme approach was adopted in 2000 for the development and roll-out of the programme. Funding is also available for smaller public schemes through the rural water programme. Responsibility for the rural water programme is devolved to local authorities. The selection and progression of schemes under the programme, within the allocations and parameters set by the Department, is a matter for the local authority concerned.

I understand that a proposal in respect of a sewerage scheme for Kiltormer was received by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government from Galway County Council as part of the development of the 2005-07 water services investment programme. The Kiltormer sewerage scheme was rated 22nd on the list of sewerage schemes that was submitted by the council in response to the Department's request to local authorities in 2003 to produce updated assessments of needs for capital works in their areas and prioritise their proposals on the basis of those assessments. In light of the level of competing demand for the available funding and given the priority afforded to the scheme by the council, it was not possible to include the scheme in the 2005-07 programme. For the same reasons, it was not included in the subsequent programme, which ran between 2007 and 2009.

The current water services investment programme, which covers the period between 2010 and 2012, aims to prioritise projects that target environmental compliance issues and support economic and employment growth. This programme followed the comprehensive review of water services capital investment that was undertaken in 2009 and 2010. All projects included in the previous programme which had not substantially advanced were reviewed to ensure the contracts and schemes that were proceeding were fully aligned with key programme economic and environmental priorities. The focus of the programme is on water conservation; environmental and public health objectives, particularly works that are required to respond to judgments of the European Court of Justice and priorities that were set in the first round of river basin management plans; and economic objectives, including works to support the development of hubs and gateways and employment creation.

A key input to the development of the current programme was the assessment of needs that was prepared by local authorities, including Galway County Council, in response to the Department's request to local authorities in 2009. These proposals were subsequently appraised by the Department. The Kiltormer sewerage scheme was not among the list of projects that were put forward by Galway County Council as part of this assessment. Therefore, it was not included in the programme. While significant resources have been provided over the past decade for water services, the availability of funds and strategic priorities determines the selection of individual projects for advancement. Consequently, it has not been possible to advance proposals in relation to the Kiltormer sewerage scheme.

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