Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Last month, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government outlined to the House the efforts he is making to address the funding issues associated with specific group water schemes in the Deputy's county. Although the specific issue has not been resolved conclusively with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the matter has been superseded by work on the development of a new rural water multi-annual programme.

My Department recently established a working group involving key stakeholders in the rural water sector to address the overall development of the sector within the overall water sector reform programme to ensure the programme responds effectively to current and future needs. Local authorities, the water services transition office of the Local Government Management Agency, Irish Water and the National Federation of Group Water Schemes as well as my Department are represented on the working group. One of the tasks of the group is to develop a multi-annual approach to targeting funding to meet priority needs of the sector. The group met last week and agreed the principles governing the new rural water multi-annual funding framework for 2016 to 2018.

It is intended that details of the new multi-annual programme will be announced in the coming weeks after having obtained the necessary sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on specific aspects of the programme. Local authorities will be invited by year end to bid for 2016 funding to provide a perspective on funding needs for schemes in their areas for 2017 and 2018 as well as to bid for suitable demonstration projects in line with the criteria to be set by the working group for some categories of projects. The overall funding arrangements for 2016 onwards for all group water schemes, including those in previously CLÁR-funded areas, will be set out in this context.

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