Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, for taking the time to address this matter, which is quite prevalent in the constituency he and I represent. In a vast majority of cases people do not tend to have many interactions with different State bodies, unless there is a specific reason. What has happened, over generations in some cases, is that there has been very little expectation of the State in certain matters. However, people have one basic expectation and it is one that is shared across most of the developed world. They expect not to have the smell of fecal matter in their residential areas or to have other sewage floating into their communities and onto their farms from nearby rivers. Unfortunately, that is happening not only in my constituency but also in too many places across the country.

Due to insufficient infrastructure on the Shannon, in particular, and poor planning of housing developments as well as a considerable number of contributory factors, water is being drained into the sewerage system during high floods and then released back into river systems. This was also mentioned during the debate on the Land Development Agency Bill 2021 by another Deputy. In my area, residents in and around Athlone have been complaining for years about the odours coming from waters that are flowing very close to their homes in many cases. They have consistently raised concerns about the health implications, the impact this is having on their property prices, their reduced standard of living and their ability to enjoy their community fully.

Large parts of Athlone's existing network are based on combined sewers, which is a sewage collection system designed also to collect surface water run-off. Combined sewers can cause serious water pollution problems during combined sewer overflow events when wet weather flows exceed the sewage treatment plant's capacity. Works to rectify this are ongoing and the residents are happy about that. However, last year, the European Court of Justice ruled that the Irish Government had breached its environmental obligations in several locations across the country. This is not new, therefore, either to the Government or to residents. The European Commission had initially given a deadline of 2005 to resolve the nationwide problem of raw sewage being discharged into rivers.

The impact this has outside of the residential areas is also quite profound in areas of natural beauty and potential tourist attractions. Recently, in Lilliput, another area of Westmeath, the bathing waters were again rated as poor, which also happened in 2018. It is an incredibly popular area. We are lucky to be from what is known as the lake county, given the bodies of water we have, but the way we are taking care of them and valuing them is simply not fit for purpose. It is not just an issue for local residents. Due to the impact this is having, our ecology, wildlife and biodiversity are being damaged. We cannot expect to have a vibrant aquamarine system when we are polluting the waterways to such an extent.

The effect this has on fish and plant life in our waters is detrimental and in many cases devastating. One need only speak to some of the local anglers or a marine biologist in the area to hear them say the same. This is on top of the lack of regulation and enforcement in respect of toxic pesticides. Moreover, there are numerous instances of oil spills and other industrial residue being pumped into the waterways and lakes across the State.

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