Dáil debates

Tuesday, 13 June 2006

Adjournment Debate.

Water and Sewerage Schemes.

8:00 pm

Photo of Pat BreenPat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I am delighted to see the Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, in the Chamber to respond to this matter. The long delays in the commissioning of a number of sewerage schemes in County Clare, among them the proposed €13.5 million Carrigaholt, Cooraclare and Labasheeda schemes, is a shocking indictment of this Government's commitment to reversing rural decline at a time when there are bumper tax receipts. The Government has so much money now that it has become very imaginative in finding ways to waste it. If only it were so imaginative in promoting rural development. In countless villages in rural Ireland, development has come to a halt as people seeking to build homes find themselves unable to get planning permission because of the lack of adequate sewerage schemes in these areas.

I appeal to the Minister of State to give a firm date for the commencement of key projects in County Clare. It is not just the Carrigaholt, Cooraclare and Labasheeda schemes that are delaying development and leading to the slow death of these villages. In total, ten towns and villages, including the county capital, Ennis, are behind schedule on various waste water projects. There are also schemes in such areas as Scariff, Feakle, Quilty, Mullagh, Broadford, Doolin, Ballyvaughan and Corofin which are behind schedule. In the case of the latter, I am happy to see that approval of the contract documents for the scheme is imminent, allowing the council to invite tenders for the construction of the scheme.

Will the Minister of State give a commitment on the projects which find themselves in an ongoing limbo because of a regressive pricing policy? The issue of foreshore licenses also arises in relation to many of these schemes. This is ironic, given the ongoing pollution being caused by the lack of proper waste water infrastructure. Thankfully, this has not affected the recent blue flag designations for beaches close to these areas.

Carrigaholt, Labasheeda, Quilty, Mullagh, Doolin and Ballyvaughan are all coastal villages, but fears have now been raised that Carrigaholt and Labasheeda will be unbundled from the other village in their grouping, Cooraclare, and that they will be left behind when schemes are finally approved. The Scariff, Feakle and Quilty schemes were due to start this year. I understand that the costing structure of these schemes is now to be used as a template for the other schemes. However, I draw attention to the fact that three villages to which I have referred have tremendous development potential. Labasheeda is often called the Doolin of west Clare because of its natural beauty and amenities. Carrigaholt is a scenic coastal village with a beautiful beach and fine fishing facilities and is potentially an attractive tourist destination. Cooraclare is an example of a rural village which has retained its character. It has a strong sense of community which needs regeneration.

In so many instances, the hearts of villages are dying as people move away to the larger towns and cities. The failure to upgrade roads, provide broadband and invest in an adequate public transport system for such villages has led to rural decline over the years. Young people are getting the message that this Government is not interested in balanced regional development or in reducing the congestion and overcrowding of our cities by engaging sufficiently in regional economic planning. It is ignoring the goals of the national spatial strategy.

Certainly the cost per unit of waste water facilities in villages does not compare favourably with large towns and cities. However, such comparisons, based on pure accountancy, fail to acknowledge the development potential of these areas and the availability of land for housing, in stark contrast to our cities which are now experiencing ridiculous house price inflation. Investment in our towns and communities will pay dividends in the long run. It will cut down on long commutes, reduce the disproportionate amount of time many people are now spending on cars, with the consequent reduction in quality of life. It will lead to a reduction in one-off housing with all the issues that arise there with regard to extending water and telecommunications infrastructure to remote areas where people are isolated.

Will the Minister of State give a clear response on the start-up date for these three sewerage schemes? I am aware there are some problems with the cost per housing unit, but I hope that the Minister of State will clear up these issues and indicate where the schemes will go from here.

9:00 pm

Photo of Batt O'KeeffeBatt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I have also had representations on this issue from the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Killeen, Senator Dooley and Senator Daly, and have also met a deputation from the area. The Carrigaholt, Labasheeda and Cooraclare sewerage scheme is included in my Department's water services investment programme to start construction in 2007. It is just one of more than 20 water and sewerage schemes serving almost 40 different areas, with a combined value of €196 million, that are in the programme for County Clare.

Following examination of Clare County Council's original preliminary report for the scheme, my Department wrote to the council in November 2004 outlining a number of issues that needed to be reviewed. Of particular concern was the high average cost of serving each house to be connected to the scheme. The cost per house in Labasheeda would have exceeded €83,000, with equivalent costs in Cooraclare and Carrigaholt of €53,000 and €74,000, respectively. No reasonable person would countenance these extraordinarily high costs being borne by the taxpayer.

In this context, it is worth noting that a householder can provide a proprietary single house waste water treatment system at only a fraction of these figures, and this is the yardstick by which the installation of sewerage facilities from the public purse must be assessed. In disbursing Exchequer funding, my Department must be conscious of value for money principles and cannot approve a scheme where the costs simply cannot be justified by comparison with other potential solutions.

Clare County Council responded with a revised preliminary report and water services pricing policy report. These were examined in my Department but they only succeeded in reducing the average cost per house to €44,046 in Labasheeda, €31,535 in Cooraclare and €27,647 in Carrigaholt. Again, these costs exceeded by multiples what a householder would pay for a proprietary single house treatment system. These figures dictate that a more focused, realistic and cost-effective solution will have to be devised by Clare County Council to come up with a scheme that can be provided at an acceptable cost to the public purse. The Department is anxious for an early solution to be found but has had to advise the council that the schemes, as proposed, are not economically sustainable. The council was advised last December to look at a pilot scheme the Department is funding in north Tipperary to test new methods of dealing with wastewater from smaller agglomerations which might offer the prospect of a more economical solution in Clare. The hope is that this new system, which, instead of laying traditional gravity or pumped sewers, collects and treats effluent from existing septic tanks using small bore pipes, will offer a more cost effective way of providing sewerage services for more dispersed communities.

The construction phase of the pilot scheme will be completed later this year and the results will then be analysed to see if the system can be successfully replicated in other parts of the country at an acceptable cost. However, this was just one suggestion and the Department will be willing to look at other proposals Clare County Council might come up with that would provide a more economic outcome than has emerged so far for Carrigaholt, Cooraclare and Labasheeda.

The Department has received no formal proposals from Clare County Council regarding de-bundling of the schemes. However, proposals that may be received in this regard will be considered. I am as anxious as the Deputy is to see a suitable solution being found for these areas but we all appreciate the importance of achieving value for money solutions for Exchequer moneys sourced from the taxpayer.

I have listened carefully to the points the Deputy has made this evening and I assure him that there will be no avoidable delay in the Department in dealing with this case when suitable proposals are received from Clare County Council. Once the council puts forward plans that meet reasonable affordability criteria, they will quickly be approved by the Department and the council will then be able to prepare contract documents with a view to inviting tenders. The Department is fully committed to putting wastewater services in place for these communities and I am confident that a way forward can be found in the near future.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.05 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 14 June 2006.