Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he will take to ensure that in accordance with the commitment in the programme for Government, public water supplies are 100% compliant with drinking standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14487/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Government's commitment to ensure drinking water supplies are in full compliance with statutory quality standards is reflected in the €4.7 billion in capital funding for water services infrastructure in the National Development Plan 2007-2013, an increase of 27% on the previous plan. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency has, under new drinking water regulations made in June 2007, been given significantly enhanced supervisory and enforcement powers regarding quality standards in these supplies.

The EPA's report for 2006 and 2007 on the provision and quality of drinking water in Ireland has identified 339 public water supply schemes where detailed profiling is required from source to tap to ensure consumers have a reliable supply that is consistently of a satisfactory standard. My Department and the EPA are working in conjunction with local authorities urgently to identify, agree and implement solutions in these cases.

Solutions may range from upgrading treatment facilities to abandoning unsuitable sources or improving operation and maintenance arrangements. Where significant infrastructural works are required they will be funded by my Department and I have put in place contingency funding arrangements for that purpose. The EPA will oversee implementation of all remedial actions as part of its enhanced supervisory function.

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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I bring the Minister's attention to the recent EPA report on the provision and quality of drinking water in Ireland for 2006 and 2007. As the Minister will know, the report indicated that 36% of our drinking water supplies require detailed profiling to determine whether the supply must be replaced or upgraded, or where operational practices must be improved to ensure the water supply to the public is clean and wholesome. This means a problem has been identified by the EPA with over one third of our water supply.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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A question, Deputy.

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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It published a list of 339 sites throughout Ireland which were placed on a remedial action list and 28 from 34 local authorities have problems with the water supply, with elements, such as e.coli, being found, which are unsatisfactory as far as the EPA is concerned.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Deputy is imparting information rather than seeking it.

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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There is a lack of treatment for cryptosporidium. It is very well having so much money in the national development plan but what about now? The EPA has indicated its standards are the minimum and they should not be left to be achieved in a few years. They should be achieved now and it is unsatisfactory that our water supply is in such a condition. What will the Minister do about this?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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That we have such a comprehensive report is testament to the fact that we have empowered the EPA to do excellent work. I commend the body on doing it. We have also given the EPA not just a 43% increase in its budget but 50 extra staff. If one looks at the newspapers, it is advertising for those staff now.

I always welcome comprehensive reports, warts and all. It is important we know the facts. The report shows continuing underlying progress from previous years in the compliance with the required chemical standards. For example, we know public water supplies affected by e.coli during 2006 came in at 8.3%, down from 9.7% in 2005 while private group water schemes came in at 35.8%, slightly down from 36.2% in 2005.

The Deputy mentioned the 339 public water supplies identified by the EPA and her question was what we are doing about them. Some 134 of these schemes require major capital investment and, of these, 130 are already approved for funding in the current water services investment programme. The other four schemes are being added to the programme. In some cases, advanced works to address some issues immediately are being considered.

In the remaining 205 schemes, the safety and security of supply issues can be addressed through better operational and management procedures or relatively small-scale improvements to the treatment processes. For example, these could include additional turbidity monitors, residual chlorine monitors and dial-out alarms, or a combination of all these.

My Department and the EPA will shortly complete an action programme setting out the appropriate solutions and timescale in each of the 339 cases. Any necessary infrastructural works will be fast-tracked and funded by my Department through a contingency funding arrangement within the water services and rural water programmes, as appropriate.

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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It is welcome that the Minister is providing more staff to the EPA but the problem is with local authorities. The EPA found that 14 local authorities were not doing their duty in terms of monitoring water supplies. They do not have enough staff or expertise for that. When he was Minister, Deputy Dick Roche told the then mayor of Galway, Niall Ó Brolcháin, that money was available but he did not provide the necessary resources or staffing to the local authority to solve the problem.

The EPA discovered that the equipment at 40% of treatment plants is inadequate in the context of allowing them to treat supplies for cryptosporidium, which gave rise to the problem in Galway. Cryptosporidium can cause acute short-term infections or illnesses in children that are untreatable. The public is, therefore, at risk. The position in respect of e.coli is similar. A recent study indicated that it costs this country €135 million to treat people with stomach bugs, which are mainly caused by e.coli infections. The EPA also uncovered major difficulties as regards the treatment of e.coli in our water supplies.

It is not enough to state that sufficient money will be available over a period of years. Funding must be provided for specific projects and local authorities should be given the necessary staff, expertise and resources to allow them to deal with the problems to which I refer.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Deputy referred to the specific example of Galway city. I had the opportunity to visit the new Terryland plant recently and I spoke to the engineers there who confirmed that not only will the quality of drinking water in Galway be good as a result of the initiatives my Department has taken, it will probably be the best quality of drinking water in the country. Moving from a position where supplies were infected with cryptosporidium to one where drinking water quality will be extremely good represents a major change.

The 339 schemes identified by the EPA include those where there is likely to be a risk of infection by cryptosporidium. Upgrading measures will provide safeguards against such infection. A cryptosporidium working group has been established under the aegis of the EPA to address issues such as the main contributory factors to high-risk supplies, the development of source protection guidelines, updated advice on risk assessment and corrective actions that can be taken to reduce risk. A number of guideline documents have been produced and are available to local authorities.