Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Donoghue for the question. The Deputy is very passionate about this issue, and rightly so. There are many towns and villages across the State that do not have sufficient wastewater treatment capacity or even wastewater treatment plants. The Deputy will be aware that last year I announced in addition to the €6 billion capital budget Irish Water has - it has a multiannual plan so it can plan into the future and deliver those projects - an additional scheme for unsewered villages and I expect to make announcements before Easter on that. There are a number of schemes in Limerick that have been sent forward by the local authority there. The Deputy is right that there are really good villages right across this country that would expand if they had the capacity. We want that to happen.

We are doing that in other ways as well. There is the Croí Cónaithe vacancy grant, for example, which I have extended to rural one-off houses, to towns, to villages and to cities. Since that grant was launched, in Limerick alone we have had 63 applications through the system. We want a lot more. Since 2019 we have brought back 212 properties into use in Limerick. These were vacant and derelict properties. The local authority in Limerick has been very good at acquiring properties through compulsory purchase orders. They have acquired some 153 in the last couple of years.

With regard to the Deputy's assertion that Housing for All does not exist in Limerick, that is just not true. I say that respectfully. We have 1,220 social homes approved in Limerick in the system, with another 1,600 at pre-approval stage. We have moved them through a very good pipeline. We have approved the first two affordable schemes in Limerick, as the Deputy will be aware. The affordable purchase scheme did not exist in Limerick previously. We have a very progressive local authority there.

I will visit Limerick next Monday. The Deputy may be aware that we have invested €116 million in the Opera Square site and the regeneration of Limerick city. This will have a great positive impact on the county also. I will visit the Opera Square site on Monday. We have approved further borrowing there too. There is a number of very significant sites there also, including the Cleeves site. There is an excellent development team at Limerick Twenty Thirty that works very closely with me and with the Department. There is a lot to be positive about with Limerick city and the region. This Government is committed to the regions and to developing in the regions. I have given the Deputy some examples of what we are doing.

The Deputy might be glad to know that I will also visit a private development in Patrickswell, which is 111 new homes, for which people will be able to access the First Home scheme, which is the equity scheme to bridge the gap between the finance a person has and the finance he or she needs. Again, this is in Housing for All. We have had more than 900 approvals for the scheme in six short months. These will be 900 homes for real families there. It is good to see private development happening there too.

Other things need to be done and we need to expedite the delivery of wastewater treatment and especially in areas that do not have systems at the moment. I expect to make announcements in that regard in advance of April. I will keep the Deputy fully informed of that.

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