Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle, agus fáilte ar ais. I also welcome the ex-servicemen from the Organisation of National Ex-Service Personnel, ONE. My dad was a proud serviceman in the Defence Forces for 37 years, so the ex-servicemen are very welcome.

I welcome this opportunity to address the House on water policy, which is a key strategic priority for the Government. The past decade has seen significant reform of the water services sector in Ireland, together with a renewed approach to monitoring and regulating the water environment. The Programme for Government: Our Shared Future seeks to advance and build on these reforms, setting out more than 30 commitments specific to water matters that are directed towards overcoming the infrastructural deficits that impact on the provision of safe and secure drinking water supplies, lead to pollution and environmental damage and challenge the achievement of sustainable development across urban and rural Ireland.

Today's statements afford a timely opportunity to consider the current water challenges we face, outline the Government's approach to water policy and update Members on the progress being made. I particularly welcome the opportunity to hear Deputies' comprehensive views on this core area of public policy. I will shortly be joined for the second half of the debate by the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, who will make the closing statement as the session concludes.

Ireland has a rich supply of natural water resources that are the envy of many countries. In recent weeks, many communities have seen far too much of the impact of this resource and that of climate change. Adaptation and building in resilience are critically important and we will focus our minds on these aspects. We have, however, a ways to go to ensure our water and wastewater networks and our broader environmental management systems are fully aligned with current and future needs.

Irish Water and local authorities, working together since 2014, have made real progress in consolidating our public water systems nationwide. We now have a coherent national approach to water services and a stronger capacity to deliver and manage investment in water services at scale. A robust policy on funding architecture for public water services is now in place following the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services, as published in April 2017. Robust governance, accountability and oversight arrangements are in operation, with economic regulation undertaken by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, and environmental regulation overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, while An Fóram Uisce fulfils its important statutory public engagement and advisory function.

While we have relatively good water quality, we face broad and significant challenges in how we protect and care for our water resources and ecosystems. Last month, the EPA published its most recent assessment of water quality in Ireland and updated trends up to the end of 2021. The report identifies some areas of improvement, but in too many areas the trends are going in the wrong direction. The main risk to water quality continues to be excess nutrients, mostly phosphorus and nitrogen, in our rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal areas. While the overall water quality trends are going in the wrong direction at a national level, we are seeing good indicators in some areas and in some sectors.

In the case of the priority areas for action, which were selected for special attention in Ireland's national River Basin Management Plan 2018 to 2021, the latest data show that the proportion of improvements within these priority areas exceeded improvements elsewhere. This indicates that when targeted action is taken improvements in water quality can be achieved. We will continue to focus our work on these areas over the next planning cycle and we will include new areas for action.

The performance of Irish Water's treatment plants has been improving, with positive performance reported on EU directive compliance and on EPA priority action areas, as recounted in the EPA's most recent urban wastewater report published a few weeks ago. Improvements, however, are being cancelled out by declines as the proportion of areas improving in status is less than the number of areas in decline.

In terms of bathing water quality, the status report is more favourable, with the EPA's most recent report showing a plenitude of clean and safe natural bathing water amenities, which are increasingly being enjoyed by people all year around. Our national bathing water expert group is working to gather the evidence required to consider how best to protect bathers' health, whether inside or outside of the current bathing water season. Regular year-round water quality monitoring is now in place in the Dublin Bay area. There are, of course, downside risks to extending the bathing water season, as sunlight and rainfall factors may adversely affect water quality during winter. The optimum balance, therefore, must be struck between the length of the bathing season, water quality and health risks if we are to avoid the closure or de-designation of bathing waters locations. It is important to point out that Deputies and Senators have been raising this matter with us in recent months.

The Government's approach to meeting these challenges involves three complementary areas of action. We must complete the transformation of Irish Water as the stand-alone water services authority in public ownership, which will deliver cost-effective water services in keeping with best practices and in response to customer needs. We must continue to upgrade our investment in water services infrastructure in keeping with our EU drinking water and wastewater services obligations and in line with population growth and economic development needs in both urban and rural areas. We must protect our rivers, lakes and groundwater by enhancing our river basin management plan, modernising our legal framework and working across government to address water quality, climate change and biodiversity challenges in an integrated way.

The policy paper on water sector transformation published in February 2021 set out the Government's vision for water services based on the full integration of water services into Irish Water as a single national water services authority in public ownership. The objective is to deliver a world-class public water services authority that meets customer needs, operates in line with best practice, represents value for money and facilitates economic development in urban and rural locations.

As Deputies will be aware, the Water Services (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill is progressing through the Oireachtas and I will take Report Stage of the Bill in the House this evening. The Bill provides for the establishment of Irish Water as the stand-alone national water services authority separated from the Ervia Group. The authority will be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and will be accountable to the Committee of Public Accounts in recognition of the level of Exchequer funding now provided to Irish Water. The legislation will be enacted before the end of this year and the new arrangements will take effect on 1 January 2023.

Engagement with unions on a framework for future delivery of water services was concluded successfully this summer at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. This framework will enable Irish Water to work in conjunction with local authorities to complete the integration of public water services into its own organisational structure over a four-year period from 2023 to 2026, inclusive. A comprehensive engagement exercise will be carried out to communicate the framework details directly to staff and ensure that all water services workers will fully understand the options available to them. It is important to note that any transfers of staff to become permanent employees of Irish Water will be on an entirely voluntary basis.

The Department also hosted parallel engagement with unions on policy matters of relevance to workers in the context of the water transformation programme, including a referendum on water ownership. The Government regards public ownership as essential to its vision for water services and this is already legally guaranteed. No change to State ownership of Irish Water is currently possible without majority support in a plebiscite of the people in line with the Water Services Act 2014.

Engagement outcomes shared with unions on 18 July 2022 incorporate the planned approach to bring forward a referendum proposal on water ownership for consideration by the Government in conjunction with the anticipated recommendation of a proposed referendum on housing from the commission on housing. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, looks forward to definitively addressing the referendum matter in this way with Government colleagues in the near future. Taken together, these legislative and policy commitments now bring clarity and certainty on future arrangements for the delivery of water services.

The Government will continue to work closely with all parties to the transformation process, which include the water services workforce and their unions as well as management teams in Irish Water and the local government sector, to ensure the framework for the future is implemented in a balanced manner and is fair and reasonable to all concerned.

In terms of investment, the Water Services Policy Statement 2018-2025 sets out the broad vision and policy objectives for the development of water and wastewater services in Ireland. Irish Water's investment plans are framed in this context. The Department is currently reviewing the statement to ensure that Irish Water's capital investment plans remain in close alignment with the Government's evolving national investment plans under the national development plan, NDP, Housing for All and the updated river basin management plans.

Recent years have seen record levels of Government investment in our water services and this investment will be sustained. The national development plan commits to almost €6 billion of capital investment to be undertaken by Irish Water in the period from 2021 to 2025. Approximately 80% of Irish Water's funding requirement is met through the Government's voted Exchequer investment in Irish Water, which reflects the cost of providing domestic water services. On this basis, €1.56 billion is being provided to Irish Water to meet the cost of domestic water services in 2023. This includes €878 million of capital funding, which is critical to enhance the ongoing significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services and support the delivery of housing as committed to in Housing for All.

This investment is delivering real benefits for citizens right across the country. The Kilkenny regional water supply scheme, for instance, will ensure a safe and reliable drinking water supply for Kilkenny and its surrounding areas. The people of Rathmullan, Milford and Ramelton in north Donegal will benefit from the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant. In the eastern and midlands region, the water supply project will deliver strategic infrastructure to ensure future security of supply in the greater Dublin area, while providing further options for reinforcing future water supplies for communities such as Newport, Borrisokane, Cloughjordan, Mullingar, Carlow, Portlaoise, Navan and Drogheda. In this way, the long-term water supply needs of an entire regional are being secured and future-proofed in a sustainable way to 2050 and beyond.

In terms of wastewater, the greater Dublin drainage project is delivering a major new wastewater treatment facility to serve north County Dublin and parts of counties Kildare and Meath. In conjunction with the significant upgrade of the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant, this key strategic project will safeguard the environment, protect public health and facilitate new housing and development.

Equally important is the Exchequer support provided through the rural water programme for water and wastewater services in areas which are not served by the public water system. The Department is finalising work on the review of the rural water sector which is considering issues such as governance, supervision and monitoring, along with the wider investment needs of the sector to be provided for under the upcoming multi-annual rural water programme. The aim of the working group is to recommend actions now and into the future to ensure an equality of outcomes for those who receive rural water services. I pay tribute to the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, NFGWS, which does amazing work in a voluntary capacity.

Overall investment in water services, whether provided through the public water system managed by Irish Water or under the rural water programme, will be maintained at high levels year on year to ensure security of quality supplies to customers across the country, while achieving greater environmental compliance in keeping with our water framework directive obligations.

To restore water bodies to good status, the two most pressing areas in need of attention are, first, to reduce the excess nutrients being lost from land and discharged into our waterways and, second, to restore our rivers to a near natural physical condition and contribute positively to the co-benefits of water quality, biodiversity and climate. The Government will shortly launch a new revised and strengthened river basin management plan, the third cycle of river basin planning for Ireland dealing with the period up to 2027. This plan will outline a detailed set of over 100 measures centred around the three broad areas for action I described, namely, delivering the single national water services authority, sustained high levels of multi-annual investment and strong protection of water bodies.

Irish Water's capacity to deliver significant capital investment programmes at scale is critical to our plans to reduce the impact from insufficiently treated wastewater discharges over time and will allow us to entirely eliminate the outdated practice of discharging untreated sewage. The new Water Environment (Abstractions and Associated Impoundments) Bill 2022, currently before the Oireachtas, will modernise our legal framework in respect of abstraction, impoundments and other physical changes to water courses. It represents an important step-up in the protection arrangements for our water bodies. Some Deputies have raised concerns about the proposals around a Shannon pipeline to service the greater Dublin area. I share those concerns but that important discussion is for another day.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, will also continue to work closely to address the causes of diffuse nutrient pollution, including delivering on the new management measures in the nitrates action programme and in the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, strategic plan to address agricultural discharges, the most significant pressure on our water quality. Our new nitrates action programme includes stronger measures to reduce nutrient losses and improve water quality and it works in harmony with the new CAP strategic plan, which has brought ecosystem protection and environmental management to the fore in a positive and constructive manner from a water quality perspective.

I have set out the Government's comprehensive approach to water policy. We have set ourselves a high level of ambition as is clear from the programme for Government. The Government is firmly focused on delivering a world-class water services system together with a robust water environment management system that works for nature and people. I thank Members for their attention and I look forward to their contributions to the debate.

See this speech in context