Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. The reason I raise the issue is the takeover by Uisce Éireann of services from 1 January 2014. I note that it is putting in place a capital investment plan for 2014. I hope the project can be included, given that there are 80 houses with septic tanks in various parts of the town. There are others in the Garoon, Mount Manor, Pond Lane, Debicot and Chapel Lane areas. Clearly, there is a health and environmental issue, as there is poor percolation, given the number of septic tanks within such a small area. There is a high water table in the Mountmellick area and also a problem with the existing network. This is acknowledged by virtue of the fact that phase 2 of the scheme is supposed to lead to the upgrade of the network. The Minister is correct in saying that in May 2012 conditional planning permission for the scheme was granted by An Bord Pleanála. In my question I asked what progress had been made in the past 12 months, but according to the reply it appears that not much progress has been made. The design work has been done for the scheme. If Mountmellick, the second largest town in the county, is to develop in a sustainable way and it is to attract industry, it needs a proper drainage and sewerage system.

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