Dáil debates

Thursday, 1 December 2011

3:00 pm

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important matter and I thank the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, for coming to the Chamber for this debate. The Vartry tunnel is a 4 km long, rock lined tunnel built in the 1860s which runs through the Wicklow Mountains. It supplies water from the Vartry reservoir to more than 150,000 homes in south County Dublin and north County Wicklow. I am deeply concerned by reports that a faultline has been identified in the rock which may result in the collapse of the tunnel at any time. The tunnel has been listed on the Environmental Protection Agency's list of facilities requiring remedial action.

The Minister, Deputy Hogan, will appreciate that this is a matter of considerable urgency. Some 80 million litres of water flow through the tunnel on a daily basis, representing approximately 20% of the total supply of water to the greater Dublin area, including towns like Bray and Greystones. If the tunnel collapses, which could occur without any warning, no alternative water supply will be available to service houses and businesses currently served by the Vartry tunnel. Not only would this be a huge inconvenience for many families, but it would also raise significant health and safety concerns. I understand from media reports that in the event of such a collapse, it could take months or years to restore the water supply to the affected areas. I hope the Minister can allay my fears in that regard. At a time when the Government is rightly doing everything it can to protect jobs and promote employment, this is an additional worry for local businesses in the area.

I ask the Minister to ensure the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Environmental Protection Agency take pre-emptive action now so alternative measures can be put in place in the event that the Vartry supply experiences difficulty. I understand that Dublin City Council has made proposals in this regard, involving the development of a 1 km bypass pipe that would run parallel to the existing pipe. I hope the Department will engage constructively with the council on this so the minds of my constituents in north Wicklow can be put at rest. I recognise there are competing demands for investment in water supplies in different parts of the country. I appreciate that the level of investment in our water infrastructure was inadequate when this country was experiencing an economic boom. It is a matter for the Minister to try to right those wrongs in extremely difficult circumstances. I know he is aware of the need for significant improvements in our water infrastructure. I have spoken to him at length on the matter. Water shortages are becoming increasingly frequent, particularly in winter. Significant leakage across our water network remains a real problem. I believe this unique and pressing case merits the immediate attention of the Minister.

Photo of Phil HoganPhil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Harris for giving me an opportunity to outline my position on this important subject, which clearly demonstrates the importance of water volumes and water quality for the community in general. I will continue to prioritise capital funding under my Department's water services investment programme, which is clearly underpinned by the need to address deficiencies in quality and security of water supply. This is in line with the risk-based approach that has been developed by the Environmental Protection Agency since 2008, whereby it has listed public water supplies that require corrective action on a remedial action list. Under the 2010-12 water services investment programme, some €285 million has been set aside for contracts to start for water supplies on the remedial action list. A further €28 million has been allocated under the rural water programme since 2008 for smaller works that are required. The EPA report that was published yesterday, The Provision and Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland - A Report for the Year 2010, indicates that good progress has been made in addressing supplies on the remedial action list. Of the original 339 supplies on the list, 166 have been removed with works to be completed on a further 136 by the end of 2011. Action programmes are in place for most of the remaining supplies.

I assure Deputy Harris that an action programme is in place for the Vartry supply, backed by funding from my Department. I am disappointed that the EPA has reported slow progress on addressing issues with this supply. The Vartry supply has served the citizens of parts of Dublin and Wicklow for over 140 years. It supplies 80 megalitres of potable water to 335,000 people every day. In 2007, my Department approved a preliminary report which recommended the replacement of the existing Vartry tunnel with a new 4 km tunnel on a direct line from Vartry waterworks to Callowhill, at an estimated cost of €19.4 million. A planning stage budget has been approved. The project is included in the water services investment programme as a project to advance through planning. My Department is awaiting the submission of contract documents from Dublin City Council to enable the scheme to proceed to construction.

Dublin City Council has proposed an advance works project to mitigate the risk to public health that was identified by the EPA, pending the construction of a new tunnel, by providing UV treatment at Callowhill. As part of the review of the water services investment programme earlier this year, this contract was added to the water services investment programme, as a contract to start, at a cost of €1.5 million. I understand the city council is working on detailed proposals for this project. My Department has also approved funding for a number of additional project staff for the delivery of water services capital projects in Dublin, including the Vartry tunnel replacement project. Capital investment in water services is being given a high priority by the Government, with €371 million being provided in 2012. The next stages of the action plan for the Vartry tunnel replacement and the more immediate works at Callowhill will be a priority for funding within the available resources as they are developed by Dublin City Council. I urge the council to finalise these proposals as quickly as possible.

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his positive response. Many of my constituents - the Ceann Comhairle's constituency of Dún Laoghaire is served by a similar supply - will be astonished and annoyed to learn that the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has allocated funding and made provision for additional staffing measures and that a preliminary report was approved in 2007. People woke up yesterday, in 2011, to read in the national newspapers that the north Wicklow water supply could be affected by these problems at any stage. I am encouraged by what the Minister has said. I would like to add my voice to the Minister's call for Dublin City Council and Wicklow County Council to get involved as quickly as possible. I would like the Minister to ask the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to contact Dublin City Council to see if progress can be made on this matter as quickly as possible.

Photo of Phil HoganPhil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I accept that legitimate concerns have been raised about the supply of drinking water to parts of Wicklow and Dublin from the Vartry supply. I reiterate my firm commitment to the advancement of proposals, including those in the action programme, aimed at addressing these deficiencies. I want infrastructural provision in the water sector to be accelerated. Important decisions on the reform of the sector will be made from this perspective in the coming months. We will build on the existing strengths of the current system to achieve our goals. Projects in the current water services investment programme will form part of our investment plans under any structural arrangements. Important projects, such as the replacement of the Vartry tunnel, need to be advanced as quickly as possible. The Government has committed to invest €1.6 billion in capital funding in water services between 2012 and 2016. I urge all authorities, including Dublin City Council, to press on with the delivery of priority projects. I can confirm that I will contact the local authority in the Deputy's area to see what can be done to expedite the proposals that have been mentioned.