Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter with me as a Topical Issue. As the Deputy knows well, group water schemes are independent community-owned enterprises and are an important means of providing piped water to rural areas where no such supply exists. While I as Minister am responsible for overall policy direction and prioritisation of rural water services and for funding for the multi-annual rural water programme, local authorities lead on local implementation of the funding measures. This includes the related administration and requisite capital assessments for inclusion in the funding programme. Group schemes rely on Exchequer funding for infrastructural and maintenance support. The Exchequer also subsidises group water schemes to ensure households do not have to pay for their domestic water supplies.

I wish to address the specific matter raised by the Deputy, which is the group water scheme that was proposed for development in Balyna, County Kildare. The Balyna scheme commenced planning its development in the early 1990s. At that time the scheme proposed to supply more than 800 houses, plus farms and commercial premises, to a relatively large area of north-west County Kildare, covering approximately 4% to 5% of the area of the county.

The Balyna scheme was to source its water from a public water supply – wellfields at Johnstownbridge and Robertstown, which also to be developed and was similarly dependent on Exchequer funding. The Balyna scheme, which was equal to a medium sized public water supply scheme, was very large by group water scheme standards. Accordingly, it was included in my Department's water services investment programme for the period 2007 to 2009 for public schemes. There was little progress on the project over the next few years and it was not included in my Department's subsequent water services investment programme for the period 2010 to 2013. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local level. Irish Water's primary function is to provide clean safe drinking water to customers and to treat and return wastewater safely to the environment. Irish Water, as single national utility, is taking a strategic, nationwide approach to asset planning end investment, and to meeting customer requirements.

I understand that Kildare County Council and Irish Water met with the Balyna group water scheme in 2015. It became clear at the meeting that there is little prospect of the Johnstownbridge wellfield scheme, the source of supply for the Balyna scheme, being included in the Irish Water capital investment programme. I understand that alternatives were also considered and discussed at the meeting but were ruled out because they were not technically feasible. Therefore, the scheme would not able to proceed either in the short or medium term and the promoters of the scheme were informed accordingly by Irish Water. I understand that soon after the 2015 meeting the scheme decided to wind up.

Acknowledging that costs were incurred in development work on the scheme, my Department recently agreed to recoup an amount of some €79,000 to assist in meeting these costs. Kildare County Council was advised of this position on 14 November 2018. Households in the area of the scheme also have other alternatives to improve their domestic water supply if necessary. The individual wells grant under my Department's rural water programme can be accessed through the council, to assist with the provision of necessary improvement of an individual water supply to households. I again acknowledge the Deputy's interest in this matter. I hope the update I have provided clarifies the evolution of this scheme in its initial years and what has happened in subsequent years.

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