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

A small number of housing estates nationally rely on developer-provided water services infrastructure, commonly referred to as DPI, for their water services. The infrastructure concerned mainly consists of wastewater treatment facilities, with a small number providing drinking water services for the estate. The majority of estates with DPI are legacy issues from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. The infrastructure was generally provided by the developer of the estate and is not connected to the public water network of Uisce Éireann. It is important to say that DPI are privately owned, with many coming to the end of their useful life.

The Department provides funding to progressively resolve these legacy issues through the multi-annual developer provided water services infrastructure resolution programme. The purpose of the programme is to progressively resolve the DPI in estates such as Gleann Alainn, Cluain na Croise, Cul na Greine and Lissagroom Meadows in Crossbarry. It is worth noting that the type of estates involved are not all the same and that there are different solutions required to resolve the DPI issues involved.

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The housing estates range from those located in towns where the solution is to connect directly to the Uisce Éireann network to those that are in remote locations where connecting to the public network may not be possible and where solutions can be considerably more complex, as the Deputy will appreciate. The funding allocated to date under the programme has been to estates where the resolution is to connect to the public network.

The Minister has also announced a number of demonstration projects, including one in Crossbarry, where the locations are remote from the public network. At present, Crossbarry does not have a public collection and central wastewater treatment system. Instead, wastewater from the four housing estates in the village is collected and treated by means of a separate DPI. The solution to the DPI issues in Crossbarry is complex in nature, and the options were fully considered by an independent expert panel. The most appropriate resolution is a stand-alone treatment system that will also benefit the village. The Deputy pointed out the potential knock-on benefits to the expansion of the village and development generally. The points made in this regard are very important. The Department engaged with Uisce Éireann and Cork County Council in developing a solution including certainty around the cost that will fully resolve the DPI issues in Crossbarry. The Minister expects to receive a final submission from the panel shortly. He will then be in a position to make an announcement on funding allocations for locations, including Crossbarry.

It is important to state that Uisce Éireann must be fully on board with any proposed solutions when it comes to DPI because it has responsibility to operate and maintain any new infrastructure when projects are completed.

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