Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My colleagues in the Rural Independent Group and I have put forward this motion on wastewater services this evening. The Environmental Protection Agency carried out a report in 2017. It found that: the wastewater treatment in 28 of Ireland's 179 large urban areas failed to meet European Union standards; raw sewage from the equivalent of 88,000 people in 38 towns and villages flows into the environment every day; wastewater is one of the main threats to the quality of our rivers, lakes and estuaries; wastewater contributed to poor quality bathing water at many beaches in 2017; and coming into contact with inadequately treated wastewater poses a major health risk.

It saddens me to say that even without this report such shocking examples are all around us. In my own constituency of west Cork, the coastal communities are urgently waiting on Irish Water works to address raw sewage that is being released directly into the sea.

At a sitting of a Dublin court last month, Irish Water heard that 64% of Castletownberes's wastewater was untreated and carried by a pipe and discharged directly into the town's harbour - a situation described as extraordinary by Judge John Brennan, who was presiding over the case. The EPA inspector, Mr. Patrick Chan, said he had lifted a manhole in Castletownbere and could clearly see human waste travelling out into the harbour untreated. Castletownbere is a picturesque tourist town. It has a brilliant fishing port. For so many businesses in rural Ireland, it is hard to make a living and they rely on their town's natural untouched beauty to attract customers to the area. How will any business in a town where 64% of the untreated sewage is being discharged directly into the town's harbour be expected to attract customers back into the town?

These businesses have been let down by the Government. Not only do they face increases in their VAT rate, they are putting up with raw sewage being pumped into their town's main attractions and their once beautiful harbours. Not only is this affecting businesses, but we have young children playing on shorelines who are being exposed to water into which raw sewage is being pumped.

This is a serious health concern. According to Irish Water, Castletownbere and Castletownshend are among five towns and villages in County Cork where untreated sewerage is currently discharged to receiving waters, either directly from sewer network outfalls or via septic holding tanks where the level of treatment provided is inadequate. The Castletownshend sewerage scheme is needed to stop untreated wastewater being discharged directly into the harbour. Currently, the equivalent of more than 400 wheelie bins of raw sewage is being discharged into the harbour every day, which is an outright disgrace.

What I cannot wrap my head around is that following parliamentary questions submitted to the Dáil in 1992, 1994 and 1995, most replies gave the impression that work would get under way in the near future, resources permitting. We are far beyond the near future now. It is time for action on the ground to get this matter addressed once and for all. This situation is no longer acceptable. Irish Water intends to rectify this problem in conjunction with Cork County Council by constructing a new wastewater treatment plant and network infrastructure to ensure that wastewater discharging to Castletownshend meets appropriate discharge standards. It is believed it may be 2022 before the works are completed. In my book, this is way beyond reasonable time. The people of west Cork have waited endlessly for these works to be started and completed. This Government needs to shake up and deliver on promises that were made to the people.

This is not only about Castletownbere and Castletownshend because other villages such as Inchigeela and Goleen, my own parish, are also affected. I was chairperson of the community council which brought people in from all over the world ten or 12 years ago to deal with this issue with county council. We paid for it and the local businesswoman, Sue Hill, put these people up so we could sit everybody down around the table and work together for a solution. Ten or 12 years later, we still have no solution. There is no growth in rural towns and villages because of this raw sewage seeping into the sea. Water levels in towns such as Clonakilty are at an all-time low, which is another serious issue. In Ballylickey and Inchigeela, the rivers cannot be cleaned because we might hurt a fly or a fish, yet there is raw sewage going into the water and there is no problem with that. What is wrong with us? We are working backwards. As I have said previously, I strongly recommend that members of the Government take a drive outside Dublin, take their heads out of the clouds and see the problems for people living in rural areas such as Castletownbere.

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