Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Lawless for raising this important issue. I will reply on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne. This matter has been raised by Oireachtas colleagues of the Deputy's from Mayo, notably the Minister of State, Deputy Alan Dillon, who is here. It is obviously a matter of huge concern for the public representatives and the people of Newport.

Deputy Lawless will appreciate that the operation of the public water supply, together with operational issues locally, are matters for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels.

The Minister, Deputy Browne, made inquiries with Uisce Éireann and has been informed that in December 2024, Uisce Éireann took over 50 areas where raw sewage was discharging untreated into the environment. Many of these areas required complex projects to plan and to deliver, and three of them were in Killala, Belmullet and Newport in County Mayo. Given the scale of the challenges faced by Uisce Éireann to address this situation in 50 locations and the level of investment that would be needed to address the discharges, Uisce Éireann needed to prioritise the areas with the largest volume of sewage being discharged and having the biggest impact on the environment. Since 2014, Uisce Éireann has built new wastewater infrastructure for 34 towns and villages across the country, ending the discharge of raw sewage into the environment. In addition to the 34 completed sites, it currently has seven locations under construction across the country. This means 41 out of the 50 locations either have brand new infrastructure in place or currently have projects under construction. There are plans for the rest, prioritising the areas where it can make the biggest impacts first. Two projects have been completed in Mayo, in Belmullet and Killala, and work is ongoing to progress Newport.

Newport currently has two historical septic tanks that do not provide effective treatment for the wastewater generated in the town. Uisce Éireann plans to decommission these septic tanks and build a new wastewater treatment plant and a marine outfall for treated wastewater. This will ensure that Newport complies with the urban wastewater treatment directive while at the same time allowing the economic growth of the town. The Newport wastewater treatment plant is currently at preliminary business case stage 2, which Deputy Lawless referenced, where Uisce Éireann will develop a shortlist of solutions, identify the preferred option and calculate an estimated cost. A significant amount of data gathering, surveys and assessments are required to support the various consenting processes. Detailed assessments of existing outfalls and marine modelling of receiving waters are also needed to meet the planning requirements for projects such as Newport.

A licence is required to carry out the surveys needed to develop a marine model. Uisce Éireann applied to the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, in December 2024 to obtain a licence, known as a maritime usage licence, MUL, to carry out the survey work. Uisce Éireann has had ongoing engagement with MARA to progress the licence application. Once a licence is granted, Uisce Éireann can then carry out the work to complete the preliminary business case and provide better clarity on the likely timescale for completion of this project.

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