Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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A recently published report by the EPA has shone a light on the need to continually upgrade our sewerage treatment facilities. While 82% of the large areas achieved the mandatory EU quality standards, untreated sewage is being discharged from 45 urban areas, including areas in my constituency such as Kilkee, Kilrush, Liscannor, Ballyvaughan, Shannon and Clarecastle. After years of underdevelopment of our water and sewerage facilities, €5.5 billion investment in capital spending is planned by Irish Water up to 2021. For years, the people of Shannon town in my county have had to endure the foul odour from the sewers. Thankfully, significant works are now under way to alleviate the problem.

An options study for the treatment of currently untreated discharges at Kilrush, Kilkee, Liscannor, Ballyvaughan and Clarecastle has also commenced. I hope that Irish Water will prioritise this study and the subsequent systems upgrade because it is extremely important for these areas. They are tourist destinations and sewerage infrastructure needs to be fast-tracked for them.

That planned infrastructure is very welcome. However, there is a problem in rural areas. There is significant cost involved in delivering a sewerage scheme in these areas which results in them falling outside the funding criteria for the current group sewerage scheme programme. Carrigaholt in west Clare is one example. People in this area have been campaigning for the development of a sewerage scheme for years. Carrigaholt is a key destination on the Wild Atlantic Way and is the home of the fishing industry, particularly the shellfish industry. It also has a very strong reputation for good food. Those who watched "Daniel and Majella's B&B Roadtrip" on UTV will have seen that they had very successful visit to Carrigaholt. It is an extremely busy tourist destination during the summer and people stop off there en routeto Loop Head lighthouse.

In 2014, €10,000 was allocated by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government towards the cost of a feasibility study into whether this scheme could be provided under the group sewerage scheme. The outcome was that it would not be feasible due to the costs involved and that it would not be sustainable relative to the grant available for the number of domestic properties to be served. However, the feasibility study proposed a joint funding approach between the Department, Irish Water and the local community. With this in mind, Clare County Council submitted a asset needs brief for the scheme in early August. However, Irish Water has now advised the council that it cannot fund this project within its current structure. Once again, it has highlighted the difficulty with this. There is a need for joined-up thinking on this, particularly in respect of funding. Clare County Council had been very proactive on the issue. It has engaged with Irish Water and the Department and I commend it on its efforts in this regard. However, despite the council's best efforts, we are still at an impasse.

The capital cost of sewerage schemes in rural areas is an issue. The cost of such schemes cannot be met by the householders alone because they are excessive, so we need a new approach to subventing these schemes. Clare County Council and Irish Water recommend a joint approach and I believe this is the way forward. While sewerage facilities are critical on environmental grounds, it is important that a funding mechanism is found to deliver these schemes in rural areas.

Will the Minister of State consider Carrigaholt as a pilot project? It is a destination along the Wild Atlantic Way and depends on tourism and fishing. A pilot project that brings the relevant stakeholders together and uses a joined-up approach could deliver a solution for Carrigaholt. I hope the Minister of State has some good news in that respect or will think about making Carrigaholt a pilot for small towns and villages.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I am happy to respond to Deputy Breen's issue which is important for the people in Carrigaholt and County Clare.

Clare County Council carried out a feasibility study on the proposed Carrigaholt group sewerage scheme with a view to ascertaining the viability of the scheme and it reported the estimated cost of the scheme to be €1.233 million. The Department of Environment, Community and Local Government informed the council earlier this year that it agreed with the feasibility study's findings that the proposed scheme and treatment for it, by way of an integrated constructed wetland, rather than connection to an existing public network was not financially viable to design and construct as a group sewerage scheme. The development of such a scheme would require significant and unrealistic demands on the contributors to, and potential group members of, the scheme. Managing the design and construction of a project of this nature and scale and maintaining the scheme into the future would not be a feasible option for a voluntary committee. The Department informed the council that the proposed scheme at Carrigaholt does not meet with the general terms and conditions of the group sewerage grant scheme. In view of the size, costs and the complexity of constructing and operating such a scheme, this scheme could not be considered for funding under the Department’s group sewerage grant scheme.

In the absence of a viable group sewerage scheme, Clare County Council was told it should liaise with Irish Water on identifying and putting in place appropriate solutions to meet the needs of the people of Carrigaholt which would involve public water infrastructure. The Department has recently established a working group involving key stakeholders in the rural water sector to address the overall development of the rural water sector within the overall water sector reform programme to ensure that the programme responds effectively to current and future needs. Local authorities, the Water Services Transition Office, Irish Water, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, as well as the Department are represented on the working group. One of the tasks of the group is to develop a multi-annual approach to targeting funding to meet the priority needs of the sector.

The working group is also considering several areas where there are potential boundary issues with Irish Water or legacy issues that need to be addressed. New approaches in this area will be informed by several demonstration projects or pilot schemes, including ones relating to group sewerage schemes. We expect to contact local authorities very shortly to determine funding requirements and demonstration projects. It will be a matter for Clare County Council in the first instance to submit proposals in this regard and Deputy Breen might be happy to engage with the council on this. In totality, this will result in a new approach to the funding of group water and sewerage schemes for 2016 onwards.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. He is from a coastal county where there are several resorts along the coastline. I welcome this working group. It is a good idea. There are many legacy issues around the country from the previous Administration and it is good to deal with them. Clare County Council is in favour of this project. It wants to see a sewerage scheme in place in Carrigaholt, that is why it has gone out of its way to work with Irish Water and the Department and I am confident that if there are going to be several pilot projects Clare County Council will make this its first priority. I welcome that. I hope this multi-annual approach will target areas such as Carrigaholt.

There are other areas in County Clare and throughout the country where sewerage schemes have not been put in place. Rural Ireland cannot wait. It must have this infrastructure if it the population is to grow. That is why this pilot project is so important. There is an important fishing industry off the coast of Carrigaholt and an important tourism industry. It is on the Wild Atlantic Way and many people stop off at the good restaurants there. Having a sewerage scheme in these villages that cannot be sustained in the traditional ways is important. I welcome the Department’s approach. I hope we can include Carrigaholt in the funding for 2016.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the fact that the Deputy recognises the opportunity that may present through the work of the working group. This group will deliberate tomorrow when it meets to discuss the principles governing the new rural water multi-annual funding framework for 2016-18. Following those deliberations the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, will announce details of the new programme over the coming weeks. Local authorities will be invited to bid for 2016 funding and to provide a perspective on funding needs for schemes in their respective areas for 2017 and 2018 as well as to bid for suitable demonstration and pilot projects in line with the criteria to be set by the working group. That may present the opportunity for Clare County Council to address the issue the Deputy raised today and for other local authorities to prioritise their submissions when making them to the new programme.

This new approach to funding will address environmental and public health compliance of schemes; incorporate funding mechanisms to protect, maintain and enhance our assets and to meet existing contractual commitments as well as establishing a structure to fund new group water and sewerage schemes into the future. It is envisaged that the funding of new schemes will be on a prioritised basis likely to have regard to matters such as the needs of households in the rural areas concerned, whether a public scheme is a viable option in the medium to long term; whether individual wells are an option in light of ground conditions and the availability of nearby water sources from reliability, capacity and suitability perspectives; the necessity for such schemes from an economic and rural development point of view as well as improving the living standards of the households concerned. The proposed funding programme will also facilitate the takeover of certain schemes by Irish Water where the relevant parties have agreed to this approach.

I am sure Deputy Breen will appreciate that it is not possible for me today to give any commitment regarding any potential projects that may be identified or selected for pilot projects in advance of 2016. I believe, however, that there is enough work for the local authorities to do to prioritise the schemes they feel are most in need of support and to have those submitted under the new programme.