Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Since being elected, wastewater treatment has been a recurring issue raised by communities across Cork South-West. I am focusing on the issue of the wastewater treatment plant in Ballydehob this morning but almost every area of west Cork is feeling the pressure from crumbling water infrastructure. From an environmental and health perspective, the very least people should expect is the proper treatment of wastewater and household sewage but years of underinvestment in waster infrastructure has left communities and areas exposed to pollution. Ballydehob's wastewater treatment plant is in urgent need of an upgrade. Despite the name, it is little more than a basic septic tank. It is not fit for purpose. Over the past ten years, it has caused massive ongoing pollution problems in Ballydehob Bay, which is within the Roaringwater Bay and Islands special area of conservation. Its habitats are protected under the EU habitats directive and it has a diverse variety of marine life and seabird colonies which need to be protected. However, sewage effluent can frequently be seen in the lagoon, quay and estuary beside the village.

An upgrade to this plant has been a long time coming. In 2009, Cork County Council and the EPA concurred that the existing septic tank was not appropriate and an upgrade was needed. The project was included in the water services investment programme at an estimated cost of €683,000 and works were to be completed by October 2012. That never materialised. In 2014, responsibility for the plant was handed over to Uisce Éireann which was granted a licence by the EPA on the condition that upgrades to the plant would be completed by the end of December 2019. Emission level value tests in the area have been falling consistently for nearly ten years. It has resulted in serious observable pollution in the harbour and estuary and a stench from the plant. All of this occurs in one of the most beautiful areas around Ballydehob which is popular with locals and tourists. Overflows are a frequent issue for the site yet Uisce Éireann remains insistent that the overflows are somehow compliant with the Department's criteria despite acknowledging that overflows from the site are completely unmonitored, the number of overflows occurring is completely unknown and it has no idea what the volume of sewage discharged by the overflow is. It seems incredible that with this level of information, Uisce Éireann is willing to tick the compliance box. The reality is dirty water and raw sewage can regularly be seen flowing from the septic tank directly into the estuary even in dry weather.

It is October 2024, 15 years after the need to upgrade this plant was identified and we do not even have the beginnings of a plan. No works have been carried out despite the council having completed detailed drawings and plans for the upgrade. The proposed new plant was never built and Uisce Éireann continues to operate in flagrant breach of the terms of its licence. Despite the EPA's best efforts, there is no movement on the issue. We all understand the shortfalls in funding, however, currently, it does not even acknowledge there is an issue on the site. Residents in Ballydehob have had enough. The community council set up a petition calling for the upgrade of the site which is available to sign in the post office and in most of the other businesses in the village. Will the Minister of State ensure the upgrade of the Ballydehob wastewater treatment is included in Uisce Éireann's 2025-29 investment programme?

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