Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to address poor water quality here, particularly poor ground water quality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43222/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Overall, water quality in Ireland is of good standard relative to other European countries. The recent EPA water quality report for 2004-06 found a slight improvement overall in water quality, particularly in surface waters with an increase, for example, from 69.2% to 71.4% in the length of our rivers that are unpolluted compared to the 2001-03 period. However, deterioration of ground water quality has been identified as a major cause of concern.

The Government is committed to the protection and improvement of our water resources. To reduce any threat from municipal waste water treatment, I secured a record budget of €560 million for better water services infrastructure in 2009. This is the highest ever provision and an increase of 19% over 2008. New regulatory and supervisory structures for water services have also been put in place, including provision for the licensing of municipal waste water discharges and the allocation of additional financial and staffing resources to the EPA to support its monitoring and oversight role in this area.

The nitrates action programme is one of the key measures to address the threat to our waters from agricultural run-off and the programme provides a basis for the reduction of both nitrate and phosphate losses from farms.

Groundwater is a valuable resource and I will be bringing forward regulations shortly to transpose the EU directive on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration. Work on regulations establishing quality standards for surface waters is also well advanced and will be completed before the end of the year.

Measures to improve water quality are being taken forward through the mechanism of the EU water framework directive. Comprehensive catchment management plans are currently being developed on a river basin district basis. These will include detailed programmes of measures to achieve the objectives of the directive. The draft plans will be published for consultation in December and adopted by the relevant local authorities by the end of 2009.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply and welcome the fact there has been a slight improvement in water quality as noted by the EPA in its reports. However, I have very serious concerns about the fact that more than half of the instances of serious pollution were caused by municipal discharges. The water framework directive was introduced more than five years ago but Ireland faces potential fines of millions of euro if we are not in line with that directive by 2015.

I ask the Minister to assure the House that water quality is his number one environmental priority and that he will put the necessary resources in place to improve the standard of municipal waste water at the 21 treatment plants in the country. I further ask him to ensure we protect the quality of groundwater by targeting agricultural waste and septic tanks.

I also ask the Minister to assure consumers that their tap water is safe to drink and that there will be no more instances such as those which occurred in County Galway recently.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I can assure the Deputy that this is a priority, which is why I secured record funding of up to €560 million for water infrastructure, an increase of 19%. The Deputy is right to be concerned about the EPA findings with regard to groundwater. The main threat to groundwater is contamination from micro organisms originating in sewerage, animal manures and other organic wastes. There has also been intermittent contamination of groundwater with fecal coliforms. Such contamination appears to be relatively widespread and constitutes a risk for those using the water, particularly if it is untreated. Fecal coliform counts indicating gross contamination were recorded at 37% of the monitoring locations.

I must also point out that there is a serious problem in this country with the proliferation of septic tanks, many of which are very old. The Deputy may be aware that the European Commission earlier this year initiated proceedings against this country in the European Court of Justice, seeking a ruling that Ireland has failed to transpose the waste directive as far as domestic waste waters from septic tanks and other similar treatment systems are concerned. We are now preparing a response to that finding. The Water Services Act 2007 contains a number of very significant provisions regarding the operation of septic tanks.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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What measures has the Minister taken to ensure that local authorities carry out further testing on drinking water to ensure it is safe to consume? Is there an action plan in place to ensure we reach the deadline of 2015 for compliance with the water framework directive?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Not only have I been in touch with the managers of local authorities, but the EPA, which has been given extra supervisory powers and extra resources and staff, has also been in contact with the various local authorities. The EPA is putting the authorities under a certain amount of pressure, which is only right, to step up to the plate and ensure people are getting the best quality drinking water possible. I have said repeatedly that this is not a resource issue. If, for example, lead contamination is a problem in certain areas of the country, there is a contingency fund in place to resolve that. I place the highest priority on getting acceptable levels in terms of good drinking water quality.