Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I am taking this Topical Issue matter on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

The Department has been in contact with Kerry County Council directly on the matter of Old Killarney Village and Birch Hill estate. I understand a report and submission are being prepared by the council.

I am assured by the Department that upon receipt of that submission, the matter will be dealt with as quickly as possible. I would be surprised or concerned if the cost had doubled in the period since 2020. Of course, there has been construction inflation but I would sound that note of caution. The Department has committed to addressing it when the submission is received.

The Deputy is right. The taking in charge of housing estates by local authorities is provided for by the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. The prescribed process in that regard applies to residential developments consisting of two or more dwellings granted planning permission under section 34 of the Act. Local authorities as planning authorities lead the taking-in-charge process of housing estates.

A small number of estates nationally rely on developer-provided water services infrastructure, commonly referred to as DPI, for their water services. They mainly consist of wastewater treatment facilities but a small number provide drinking water services for the estate. The infrastructure was generally provided by the developer of the estate and has not been connected to the public water network. The majority of estates with DPI were constructed in the period from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s and are privately-owned facilities. As the Deputy said, there are legacy issues. The Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government introduced the multi-annual developer-provided water service infrastructure resolution programme to provide funding for the progressive resolution of these legacy issues.

In 2020, funding allocations under the programme were announced, including funding for the Old Killarney Village and Birch Hill estates, totalling approximately €401,000. The focus of the first tranche of funding under the programme is on estates where the resolution is to connect their water services to public networks. A study completed by Uisce Éireann in 2022 will inform and assist in developing further solutions for estates where, due to distance, it is not necessarily viable to connect them to the public network. The Department has been in direct contact with Kerry County Council on this matter, specifically with regard to Old Killarney Village and Birch Hill estates. My understanding is that a report is being prepared by the council. I do not have the timing of that but the Department assures me that upon receipt of that submission, it will deal with it as quickly as possible.

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