Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I am taking this question on behalf of Deputy John Connolly. The issue of wastewater treatment plants in our rural towns and villages is one I have raised with the Taoiseach before. I refer in particular, however, to Ballycommon in Cloughjordan in north County Tipperary, which I know he will be aware of from previous discussions here in this Chamber. With the quite large level of investment coming from the national development plan into Irish Water, I appreciate that cities and large towns will have to take a certain level of priority in terms of the numbers of houses delivered, but I am worried about our smaller towns and rural villages being left behind.

In Ballycommon in north Tipperary, 34 houses could be built right now were it not for a lack of capacity in the system. Two developers there would build a plant if they got permission. In Cloughjordan, my own village where I live, we have not seen a private development since the mid-2000s. The council cannot build and new businesses often cannot connect. The housing estate that has developer-provided infrastructure cannot be taken in charge by the council because there is no capacity in the system. These are two examples of villages like many others right across rural Ireland. Will the Government commit to ensuring Uisce Éireann will provide a scheme of funding for these smaller towns and villages through national development funding and that it will not just be our larger towns and cities that will be looked at?

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