Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, who would like to thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and providing an opportunity to address the matter. As he knows, a small number of estates 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 estates concerned. The majority of estates with DPI were constructed between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s. The infrastructure was provided by the developer of the estate and is not connected to the public water services network. It is important to state that DPI is privately owned and these are legacy issues. This applies to the case the Deputy raised. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is supporting the resolution o the DPI issue in the Birch Hill and Old Killarney Village estates by providing cofunding, as the Deputy acknowledged, through its multi-annual developer-provided water services infrastructure resolution programme. The terms of the multi-annual programme are based on cofunding to support local authorities in their obligations to take in charge residential estates. The framework documentation for the multi-annual programme provided to local authorities clearly sets out the details, terms and conditions of the funding available. Under the cofunding arrangement, the Department meets 75% of the cost and the remaining 25% is met by the local authority. To the Deputy's specific question, that shortfall has to come from the local authority under this scheme. The planning authorities, which are the city and county councils, are subject to section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. They are obliged to take residential estates in charge. Funding under the multi-annual programme is a significant contribution - 75% - to assist them in doing so.

It is important to note that the cofunding arrangement under the multi-annual programme has enabled local authorities in locations across the country to successfully resolve issues like this. In 2020, under this programme, Kerry County Council was allocated funding for a solution to resolve the DPI issues in the Old Killarney Village and Birch Hill estates. The Deputy cited the figure of €401,000 for that. As he said, costs have increased and a new solution has been found.

While no progress has been made to date on the resolution of the developer-provided infrastructure, DPI, in these estates, the council has been actively working on the preparatory processes.

The Department and Kerry County Council have engaged in recent months on the matter of these two estates. As the Deputy said, on the longest day of the year last month, the Department provided Kerry County Council with a budget increase to the original allocation to reflect the construction inflation and, as the Deputy outlined, a revised approach to connection of the water services in the estates to the public Uisce Éireann network. This more than doubles that allocation. It brings the co-funding provided up to €992,000 to allow the council to resolve the DPI issues in these two estates. That is the figure cited by the Deputy and, as he has said, it is 75% of the cost. That is correct under the co-funding arrangement. Under co-funding, 25% is to come from the local authority. The Department is fully committed to resolving the DPI issues both nationally and in County Kerry. This is why €992,000 is being provided by the Department towards this necessary work.

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