Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá fadhb againn i gCiarraí le fuíolluisce agus leis an gcóras cóireála fuíolluisce. Ag an bpointe seo anuraidh bhíomar ag feithimh le fógra ó Uisce Éireann mar gheall ar infheistíocht i bhfuíolluisce i gCiarraí. We have a serious problem in County Kerry with wastewater treatment systems. This time last year we were waiting for an announcement from Irish Water that at the end of quarter 1 we would have good news in regard to a list of villages around the county where investment would be made available for the enhancement or replacement of wastewater treatment systems and plants around the county. In June we eventually received notification that the Kilcummin sewerage system and the Kenmare wastewater treatment plant upgrade would be included in the Irish Water capital investment plan as capital projects. The only others to be mentioned were Fenit, or An Fhianait, and Knightstown, or An Chois, on Valentia Island. It seemed that those wastewater treatment plants were to be included in another scheme, the small towns and villages growth programme, but the latest I have heard is that no further upgrades are anticipated under the current programme for any other small towns or villages around the county.

In Abbeydorney, there is a huge issue with development. Everybody knows how difficult it is to find GPs who will open surgeries in small villages. A proposed new GP surgery, which is so badly needed and is currently operating out of a couple of rooms in a community centre, is stalled because there is no wastewater treatment system in place in Abbeydorney, despite three or four estates having been built over the past 20 years. In Fenit money was promised in June of last year. It is currently not possible to build more than two houses in Fenit. A possible hotel is also proposed in anticipation of the Tralee to Fenit greenway, which is supposed to open this summer. There is an anticipated influx of tourists and day-trippers who will go to Fenit and allow Fenit to achieve its potential. However, without news of any movement on the wastewater treatment plant, that is not possible.

All around the rest of the county, in Glenbeigh, Rathmore and Duagh, the lack of investment flies in the face of plans to prioritise towns and villages and to invest in communities and long-established settlements.

It is deeply frustrating when we contact planners about a proposed development, whether it is residential or commercial, and time and again we are told that we have to get a report from Irish Water and that people who are applying for planning permission must obtain that report before the investment or development can take place. In Castlegregory, which is right beside the sea, the system is no more than a holding tank, which is a large septic tank about 100 yd from the sea. It is completely unacceptable from an environmental, residential, and developmental point of view.

In the past, when Kerry County Council had control and responsibility for water, it carried out works on treatment plants in Castleisland, Dingle, Listowel, Cahersiveen, Ballybunion, Milltown and Tralee. Irish Water has been working on the water system and even though I was not a fan of the establishment of Irish Water and I was against it at the time, to give credit where it is due, it has done some good work on the water system, but it is not doing enough on wastewater. It was a mistake to take that responsibility away from Kerry County Council. It is hard to think of a single case, be it refuse, housing, health, or orthopaedic surgeries, where a better service or a cheaper and better value service was provided when it was outsourced. We had a list last year and we still have a totally inadequate wastewater system. We had the Fenit announcement but we are waiting. We had Kilcummin on a smaller scale but we are still waiting on that. Will the Minister of State enlighten me as to what is happening with this?

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