Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me the opportunity to raise an issue of vital importance for Churchtown GAA club in north Cork and many other sporting organisations. The issue is the delay in delivering funding to the club, which has been caused by a problem in the Land Registry. The funding allocation was made two and a half or three years ago and the club has been awaiting a directive from the Land Registry which it could forward to the Office of the Chief State Solicitor to enable the funding to be sanctioned. A number of clubs across the country are in the same position. Industrial action in the first half of 2010 prevented the Land Registry from addressing the matter. Although the industrial action ceased in June, the Chief State Solicitor's office has still not prepared the required paperwork or resolved outstanding issues with the Land Registry to ensure the funding can be drawn down by the club.

Churchtown GAA club has been ready to commence work on the project for which it secured the relevant funding since this time last year. Officials in the Department wish to ensure that every club receives its allocation as quickly as possible. The reason the club has been waiting to draw down the funding for such a long time is the inordinate delay in having the paperwork done on its application.

When the Minister met members of Churchtown GAA club in June last year he indicated that the allocation would be made once the issue causing the delay had been rectified in the Land Registry. Unfortunately, as we approach the middle of November, sanction for the funding is still not forthcoming. I ask the Minister of State to outline what steps have been taken to resolve this issue.

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue which is, I am sure, of great importance to the club concerned. The sports capital programme, which is part funded from the proceeds of the national lottery, is the primary means of granting Government support for the provision of sports facilities at national, regional and local level. It would not be an exaggeration to state that the programme has been of benefit to communities the length and breadth of the country.

Under the sports capital programme, the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport provides funding to voluntary, sporting and community organisations for the provision of sports and recreational facilities. More than 7,400 projects have benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to more than €738 million. The programme has, in the past ten years, transformed the sporting landscape of Ireland with improvements in the quality and quantity of sporting facilities in every part of the country. The facilities funded range from the smallest clubs to national centres of sporting excellence.

Deputies will be aware of the many benefits that derive from the programme in their respective localities. They will have no doubt noted the value of the programme in assisting local clubs in meeting the sporting needs of their areas and targeting clubs in areas of social disadvantage. By doing this, the Government is supporting the provision of facilities where there may be little prospect of such facilities being provided by communities acting alone. These facilities provide an opportunity for participation in sport which leads to healthier lifestyles and a reduced likelihood of younger people drifting into anti-social behaviour.

It is a common misconception that the programme has been discontinued. The programme is very active, with €48 million provided by the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport in 2010 to cover the payment of grants. This funding will allow more than 1,000 payments to be made to sports clubs and community groups in every county.

Since 1998, Churchtown GAA club has received four allocations under the sports capital programme, totalling €231,579. Of this, only the €50,000 provisional allocation made in 2008 remains to be drawn down. All grant allocations are subject to compliance with the terms and conditions of the programme. These include, for allocations above certain specified thresholds, the execution of a deed of covenant and charge. This places a charge on the grantee's title to the property and is intended to protect the taxpayer's investment by ensuring the facility remains in sporting use for at least 15 years. The Department's legal adviser, the Office of the Chief State Solicitor, deals with the grantee's solicitor in executing this deed.

The Chief State Solicitor's office wrote to the grantee's solicitor on 31 August last seeking confirmation that registration of a deed of covenant and charge in respect of previous allocations had been completed in the Property Registration Authority in accordance with undertakings provided at the time. The office informed the Department this afternoon that no response had been received to the letter of 31 August. Until this confirmation is received, formal approval of the provisional allocation made in 2008 cannot be progressed. The Deputy will appreciate that in the current circumstances, a high priority must continue to be attached to properly protecting public investment in sports facilities. The club's solicitors should confirm registration of the previous Deed to the Chief State Solicitor's office as a matter of priority and the Department will continue to liaise with the grantee on an ongoing basis to assist in progressing the allocation.

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Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for affording me an opportunity to raise again the urgent need to improve the sewerage scheme at Kilmallock, County Limerick. For the past ten years, the town has been at the top of the list for the development of a sewerage scheme. The current sewerage system in Kilmallock is in urgent need of upgrading as both the plant and network are deficient.

The existing wastewater treatment plant in Kilmallock was built in the 1940s to cater for a population of only 1,500. It is heavily overloaded and effluent discharges are a significant source of pollution in the River Loobagh. The proposed new sewerage scheme consists of the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant and main lift pumping station at the north-west end of the town. It is proposed to replace or up-size the existing trunk sewer along the river bank, extend existing foul sewers and install a new 300 mm diameter storm sewer along the Kilfinnane Road.

One of the defects of the current scheme is that the storm sewer is part of the main sewer scheme and is being unnecessarily treated by the effluent plant. The proposed treatment plant site is situated north west of the town on the southern bank of the River Loobagh. The treatment works will be sized to cater for a design loading in phase 1, which runs until 2026, of 4,000 PE, with the plant designed to cater for an expansion to 8,000 PE in phase 2. Treated effluent will be discharged into the River Loobagh and effluent standards are based on the assimilative capacity of the river. Serious concerns arise regarding the pollution caused by the current discharges into the river. On 31 July 2003, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the then Deputy Cullen, promised by way of letter that the scheme would commence in 2004. When will it commence and what is the expected date of completion because sewerage schemes are being developed elsewhere? Infrastructural development has not been abandoned simply because of the recession although I appreciate the level of activity has been reduced.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State should provide a few for County Donegal.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Neville.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I apologise to Deputy Neville but I could not resist.

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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When will work on this scheme commence? I had expected that this scheme would commence because it was promised sincerely two years ago. There are two vital questions to which the people, traders and organisations in Kilmallock seek answers. First, the environmental section of the council is anxious to ensure that sewage disposal in Kilmallock complies with European Union urban waste water treatment work directives. In December 2003, Environmental Resources Management Limited presented a report commissioned by the Kilmallock town traders, which outlined 37 recommendations for improvement in the town, many of which were dependent on the construction of a sewerage scheme. The population of Kilmallock has declined significantly over the years because of the lack of opportunity to develop housing there, although some development has taken place in recent years by a contractor who privately organised the disposal of sewage. The proposals currently before the Department will provide for a population equivalent of 4,000 with a possibility of future development.

I refer to the marginal pricing policy for the towns. At present, the allocation is 40% to Kilmallock. The council cannot come up with this if the scheme comes to fruition because income from development charges has completely dropped off as a result of the recession and, consequently, the finances are not in place. As the Minister has increased the level of marginal pricing policy to 90% in other areas, I also seek such an allocation. Moreover, the domestic demand to which I ask it to be extended does not add a lot. It is important to have a sewerage scheme to attract new commercial enterprises and to do so, a new plant is required. A plant is needed for industry and for the other reasons I already have outlined.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I must ask the Deputy to conclude.

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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The contract documents have been with the Department since last year. Amendments were sought earlier this year but have been sent to the Department from Limerick County Council approximately six months ago. I ask that this scheme be fully sanctioned and that a move be made towards organising a contract to complete the scheme as was promised in 2004.

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Neville for the opportunity to outline the current position on the Kilmallock sewerage scheme. My Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2010-2012, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library, includes a contract for the procurement of a new waste water treatment plant under the Kilmallock sewerage scheme to advance to construction during the period of the programme at an estimated cost of €3.4 million. My Department has completed its assessment of Limerick County Council's revised contract documents to procure the Kilmallock waste water treatment plant under a design build operate, DBO, contract and will convey its decision to the council shortly. Under the contract, the council proposes to construct a new treatment plant and ancillary works, including a new pumping station and trunk sewer to transfer flows from the existing treatment plant to the new facility.

I am aware of the importance of the new treatment plant to Kilmallock and its environs. The existing plant is operating at, and sometimes beyond, its design capacity and in doing so can be a source of pollution in the receiving waters, namely, the River Loobagh. The discharge licence for the existing treatment plant issued by the Environmental Protection Agency requires the council to commission a new plant. The council's proposals currently before my Department will alleviate these concerns and cater adequately for the needs of Kilmallock and environs for many years.

I should point out that the council's proposals do not include the upgrade and extension of the existing collection system in Kilmallock that had been a part of the Kilmallock sewerage scheme under the previous water services investment programme. Last year, local authorities, including Limerick County Council, carried out an assessment of needs to review and prioritise their proposals for new capital works in their areas. These assessments were subsequently appraised in the Department in the context of the funds available and key criteria that complemented those used by the authorities. Inevitably, through this process, certain projects that had been included under previous phases of the water services investment programme had to give way to others that are more strategically important at this time. However, the council can consider the works to the collection system for inclusion under the next phase of the programme after 2012.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Department has reviewed the overall funding for the DBO contract and, as a result, a greater proportion of the costs will now be borne by it. This will reduce the financial burden on Limerick County Council in the delivery of a key water services project in their area.

As I stated earlier, my Department will write to Limerick County Council shortly regarding the DBO contract documents and the enhanced funding arrangements for the Kilmallock scheme. I assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to work with Limerick County Council to ensure that the Kilmallock sewerage scheme and other key water services projects in the county are advanced as far as practicable during the period of the new programme.