Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I hope that, when the Minister of State replies, he will not refer to land initiative programmes in the area of Doneraile. The estimated cost of the sewer length is €173,340 excluding VAT and the proposed turnpike at the Skaghardgannon extension would collect sewage from 15 houses. The Doneraile sewerage scheme has not been completed. The residents in the Skaghardgannon area recently received a letter from the environmental department of Cork County Council, stating that incidents of pollution had occurred in the area. The problem arises from the failure of the county council to provide a drain, which it was to have done at an earlier stage. That is creating a serious problem for the residents.

Given that the general main scheme is not completed, now is the time for the Minister to grant permission. Two areas, Turnpike and Skaghardgannon, are involved. I refer solely to Skaghardgannon. I received correspondence from a former Minister who stated a decision to include Skaghardgannon in the Turnpike cross sewer extension of the Doneraile sewerage scheme is ultimately a matter for Cork County Council. It is not. The main scheme and the various links made in the Doneraile area were done by the Department, and Skaghardgannon should be included. I hope the Minister of State will be positive in his reply.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity to clarify the position. My Department's water services investment programme 2004 to 2006, published in May 2004, includes funding for 97 schemes throughout County Cork. As a Corkman, I am proud that the entire county will benefit from the Government's extensive investment in new infrastructure under the national development plan. In total, almost €543 million has been allocated under the water services programme for new water and sewerage schemes in Cork.

The Doneraile sewerage scheme was approved for funding as part of this package. The scheme consists of a new waste water treatment plant and sewage collection system and will cost more than €2.5 million. The waste water treatment plant for Doneraile will be procured as part of a grouped contract that will also include new treatment plants for Buttevant and Kilbrin. My Department is examining Cork County Council's tender documents for this contract. Although they were only submitted in recent weeks, the Department expects to be in a position to convey a decision to the council shortly. I assure Deputy Sherlock that I am just as anxious as he is to see approval being given to the council to commence work on this scheme at the earliest possible date.

The collection system for the Doneraile scheme is advanced as a separate stand-alone contract. Construction commenced in November 2004 on this element of the scheme. It does not extend to Skaghardgannon, and I understand it is close to completion. My Department has approved Cork County Council's proposals to add two sewer extensions to the Doneraile scheme, one from Turnpike Cross to Skaghardgannon on which Deputy Sherlock raised this issue, and the second from the industrial zoned area north of Turnpike Cross to Brough Cross.

The Department indicated to the council that it is willing to fund both extensions in accordance with the terms of the serviced land initiative. Under this measure the Department provides 40% of the capital funding for approved works on the basis that they will contribute to the supply of serviced residential sites and thus increase the availability of new houses for prospective purchasers. In putting forward this proposal, my Department saw an opportunity to provide waste water facilities for existing residents in conjunction with the provision of services to respond to the high potential for future residential development along both sewer lengths and, in addition, the existence of an industrial zoned area along the Turnpike Cross-Brough Cross branch that would also be connected.

Without the other development, both sewer extensions would serve no more than 30 existing houses at an estimated cost of approximately €600,000. The resulting average cost per house would be prohibitive and would not be justified on economic grounds by comparison with the cost of a proprietary single house treatment system that an individual householder could install to replace a malfunctioning septic tank.

The idea of funding the proposed sewer extensions under the terms of the serviced land initiative was put forward by my Department to try to find a way to help the householders involved. It would allow the householders to benefit from services that would be put in place with part-funding from my Department to serve potential new development in the area. If Cork County Council is interested in proceeding with this option, my Department is still prepared to meet 40% of the approved costs. The remainder would need to be recouped by the council from developers, including any borrowing costs the council might incur on its investment in the meantime.

Another alternative the council could consider would be to fund the sewer extension to Skaghardgannon from the annual rural water programme allocation it receives from my Department. Cork County Council has a total allocation of €2.4 million under this programme for small public schemes in 2005 and will benefit from further allocations in the years ahead. The council has complete discretion with the prioritisation of individual schemes under this measure and any decision to fund the Skaghardgannon extension would be entirely within its own remit. A number of options are open to Cork County Council. To a large extent the solution is dependent on Cork County Council, and the Department is prepared to co-operate in any way possible.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I am delighted the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, is present for this debate. I wish to focus attention on a serious issue affecting the people of Ennis. One takes for granted the quality of one's drinking water if issues regarding that quality do not arise. The Minister of State may be aware through coverage by the national media that for some time the county town's 25,000 residents have experienced problems with the water supply. It is partly a legacy of the rapid expansion of the town which 20 years ago had a population of approximately 10,000.

The result is that at different periods, particularly after heavy rainfall or a long dry spell, the town council, in consultation with the HSE, must issue a boil notice because of the risk of ingesting e-coli bacteria. The long-term solution is the provision of the sanctioned €6.5 million filtration plant which is not due to be completed until late 2007. That is two years from now.

The short-term solution is the provision of tankers of fresh water which could be augmented by the supply of bottled water for free or at a subsidised rate. Not everyone has a car to transport large containers of water. Another possible short-term solution is an investigation into the contamination source of the Ennis water supply. This could be conducted by a team of specialist consultant engineers. It would require departmental funding but that would be money well spent and would contribute to the long-term viability of the water. Much work has been done on the groundwater flows following an environmental impact study of the River Fergus drainage scheme. An extension of that type of study would be worthwhile and might contribute to the improvement of the town's water supply. I appeal to the Minister of State to consider this option seriously.

The issue is partly one of confidence, which has been eroded among the people of Ennis. Further afield, the message has gone out that one should not drink the water in Ennis. It does not make the winner of the 2005 Tidy Towns competition an attractive place in which to live or invest. Despite the assurances of the town council that a partial boil notice covering young people, children and immuno-deficient people is a precautionary measure, confidence in the town's water supply is at an all-time low.

I urge the Minister of State to impress on the county manager the necessity to sanction the use of tankers of fresh water without delay. I understand this would involve considerable expense over a two-year period. Perhaps an allocation of funds might be made for this unique situation. It is unacceptable that people of limited means, particularly parents of young children, should either pay for overpriced bottled water in supermarkets or experience the cost and inconvenience of boiling water. This is a stealth tax. With bottled water more expensive than petrol in many instances, people are paying rip-off prices. Their only alternative is to boil water. This is an expensive and not very palatable drink over a long period. The council says the "boil" notice currently applies to a small number of people. That is not the point, however. That a vulnerable group of people or those acting on their behalf are expected to fork out money to guarantee their fresh drinking water requirements is grossly unfair. The council has admitted that the water supply will be vulnerable until a new treatment plant is put in place. That simply is not good enough in terms of assessment of the water supply for a town the size of Ennis. An alternative to tankers might be a subsidised scheme of bottled water in conjunction with one of the major bottling companies.

Taxpayers should expect to have clean drinking water. I commend those businesses that have reduced their bottled water prices in Ennis. In this regard, I ask the water supply companies, wholesalers and supermarkets, to take a look at their pricing policies. All this underlines the urgency of a speedy end to the filtration project. I understand work on the plant will not start until next year and that the Department has approved the council's tender documents with some amendments. Five short-listed consortiums will have a four-month period to respond to those tenders. In turn, the analysis of those responses will take some time. The official reckoning is that this project will take up to two years to complete. Then it is expected the eventual contractor will require 15 months to commission and build the plant.

I urge the Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, to do all in his power to speed up the process. I understand it is complex, involving design, build and operate contracts. However, in this case even weeks and months could make a difference to the quality of people's lives. There may be other mechanisms by which the minimum notice period under the public procurement process could be amended, given the urgency of the situation. There may be other windows of opportunity where a sense of urgency could prevail. In the meantime, some form of State-sponsored fresh water scheme is the least Ennis residents can expect while the contamination problem is being resolved. I urge the Minister of State to look at those options in the short-term.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and I am glad to have the opportunity to respond to it. I visited Ennis a few weeks ago to see what the situation was on the ground and so have first-hand awareness of what residents and businesses have to contend with.

I express my concern to the people of Ennis and surrounding areas who have been affected by the "boil water" notices and echo the view that everything possible must be done to get this problem resolved. I am aware that there have been three "boil water" notices since last May, including one last Friday, which, I understand, was caused by a technical failure at the source. I fully appreciate that having to boil water, necessary though it may be to protect public health, causes inconvenience, distress and anxiety and should not be a regular occurrence in any part of Ireland today.

The problem with the Ennis water supply stems from the fact that the source is vulnerable to contamination, including contaminants from septic tanks or agricultural run off, and the only process the water is currently put though is chlorination. Disinfection by chlorination produces a good quality supply at nearly all times, but needs to be supplemented by additional treatment to remove the occasional risk associated with chlorine resistant organisms in the water.

The Ennis town water supply treatment scheme will put the necessary treatment facilities in place and has been approved for construction in my Department's water services investment programme at an estimated cost of €6.5 million. The Minister has given clearance to Clare County Council to invite tenders for the scheme and the money for it is ready and waiting in the Department. The Department's officials have assisted the council to speed up the finalisation of the tender documents and the council has already short-listed a panel of suitable contractors who will be asked to tender for the scheme.

Like everyone else in the House, I want to see the work getting under way at the earliest possible date. However, we must be realistic and remember that what we do now must solve the problem effectively and permanently. The reality is that we are looking at a period of about two years before that permanent solution is in place.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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What happens in the meantime?

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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While this undoubtedly seems lengthy, the contractors will have to draw up and price, from scratch, a detailed design and specification, a construction programme, and a long-term operational and maintenance strategy. They will be required to demonstrate that they can supply the people of Ennis with a consistently high quality drinking water supply for the next 20 years that will be delivered at an economic cost to the council and to the non-domestic consumers who will have to pay for it. The design phase will take until next March. It quite simply cannot be completed any sooner without compromising the outcome to the long-term detriment of the town.

The contractors' bids will then have to be evaluated by the council and by the Department in order to select the best all round solution. Each of the bids will be different and the detailed technical assessments that will be needed to select the optimum proposal will take until the end of June. Construction and commissioning will take about 15 months and the new treatment plant should be operational by October 2007.

I do not wish to see the people of Ennis living under the threat of "boil water" notices in the meantime. In that regard, Clare County Council has advised my Department that it is investigating the availability of temporary treatment facilities. My Department will provide any help we can to the council with interim remedial measures. I also understand that, in the event of further disruption, the council will look at the provision of tankers to relieve the situation. The current "boil water" notice is expected to be lifted by the weekend.

A separate scheme, the Ennis water supply augmentation scheme, will provide Ennis with a supplementary water supply from Castlelake, and is approved for construction in my Department's water services investment programme. The department has already approved Clare County Council's proposals to lay some of the pipes for this scheme, at an estimated cost of €5.34 million, in conjunction with the Ennis bypass.

I am acutely conscious of the present highly unsatisfactory situation regarding the Ennis water supply. The Department is helping the council to bring about the earliest possible solution. We maintain close contact with the council and will be available at all times to offer whatever assistance and advice we can.