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

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist tábhachtach seo. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue so that I can answer on behalf of our Department and for outlining the very real concerns he has put forward on behalf of the businesses in Clonmel. It is a town I am very familiar with as a former student of Tipperary Institute on the campus in the town. It is a town that is doing great work to revitalise its town centre, as the Deputy said, and this poses a great challenge to it.

The provision of wastewater and water services in Clonmel is a matter for Uisce Éireann in the first instance. The Uisce Éireann capital programme is fully funded, with almost €1 billion of Exchequer funding available in 2023. Uisce Éireann will have invested €134 million on water and wastewater infrastructure in Tipperary from 2014 to 2024 and estimates that approximately another €136 million will be invested beyond 2024.

My Department has made inquiries and has been advised that Uisce Éireann is monitoring the current Clonmel situation very closely. It has identified a number of projects to rectify many of the issues arising. As the Deputy will understand, these projects are complex in nature and may take some time to deliver. However, in the short term, Uisce Éireann is implementing remedial works for the three water treatment plants that serve Clonmel and its environs that will address deficiencies at the plants. Operational improvements are also being carried out with the installation of a generator with auto-changeover to enable continuous power to the plants in the event of power interruptions and control valves with automatic shutdowns. Uisce Éireann is also undertaking 2 km of water main rehabilitation for the Clonmel network, covering Cashel Street, William Street, Morton Street, Bolton Street, Albert Street and Western Park. Replacing these old pipes with new, modern pipework will improve water quality and supply as well reducing disruptions including low pressure and outages. These works are expected to be completed by the end of this year.

In terms of responding to the business community, Uisce Éireann has rolled out a new text alert system for businesses customers in Tipperary. The aim of this service is to inform business customers of outages, planned and unplanned, as well as drinking water restriction notices, including boil water notices, of a duration of more than four hours. If an issue arises on the network that causes a water outage in an area or affects water quality, businesses who sign up to the service will receive a text alert as soon as Uisce Éireann has assessed the issue and has the necessary information to alert the businesses affected and to let them know for how long they might be without water.

Furthermore, Uisce Éireann has advised that supports are available to business owners who experience issues with their water supply. Any non-domestic business customer who is impacted by a water quality notice will receive a tariff discount on their water supplied charge for the period impacted by the water quality notice. In this case, business customers will receive a 40% rebate on the cost of the supply of water to their businesses for the duration of the water quality notice and this will automatically be applied to their bills. Further information can be found on the business section of Uisce Éireann's website.

I will come back with a supplementary reply. The Deputy has raised very serious concerns but these are being addressed by Uisce Éireann. I know there was a briefing for Tipperary Oireachtas Members on the matter. I understand that Uisce Éireann is making every effort to resolve the issues. Again, we will relay the Deputy's concerns to Uisce Éireann from our Department.

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