Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Regrettably, Deputy Burton and I have to share time on this important matter. I was first elected to Fingal County Council 12 years ago last Sunday. During that time, there have been major deficiencies in the wastewater infrastructure in the Fingal area. Both Deputy Burton and I represent constituencies in the Fingal County Council jurisdiction. Balbriggan, Rush, Skerries and, more often than not, Malahide and Portmarnock have been affected by serious difficulties with the infrastructure provided by the county council.

There has been exponential growth in both constituencies and, in the case of coastal towns, somewhere in the region of 90,000 people live in the areas affected by no-swim notices in recent weeks. This unacceptable.

In the town of Rush which has a population of approximately 11,000 - I am sure that figure will be borne out by the census results in the next few months - 75% of the waste generated is flushed out to sea untreated. When I was elected to this House 12 years ago, there were contracts for the segregation of the wastewater and surface water in both Rush and Malahide. Both were put out to tender, but, unfortunately, both had to be withdrawn and a few years later the entire process collapsed following the downturn in the economy.

The difficulty we have is that in Fingal which has a community of more than 250,000 which is growing enormously there is seriously substandard water infrastructure, particularly waste infrastructure. While I appreciate the work Irish Water is doing in Rush, in particular, it is simply unacceptable that when we had what could not be described as a deluge - I believe it lasted for about eight minutes in Portmarnock - the entire beach had to be shut down for a period of three days. At the northern end of the constituency it had to be closed for longer; admittedly there was heavier rainfall, but the major difficulty I have is that there does not seem to be an impetus to have the infrastructure upgraded. I will ask a question and then conclude.

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is eating into Deputy Joan Burton's time.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

What happened to all of the development levies raised? What happened to the subvention imposed by the Government of the day to meet infrastructural requirements in northern Fingal?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Seven beaches were closed in north County Dublin during the recent spell of fine weather which the rest of the country was celebrating. Beaches that are well known and were named for their beauty such as Velvet Strand were closed because faecal waste, nappies and so on were floating in the water owing to heavy rain, as a result of which the pumping stations were overflowing. It seems extraordinary that nothing was said by the Minister responsible for the environment. His Department has not yet been renamed, but when it is, I understand he proposes to drop the word "environment" from the title. This would be an environmental disaster. I know that the Government is focused, in particular, on rural Ireland, but believe it or not there are people living in urban Ireland and the closure of all beaches in a heavily populated part of the country is an environmental disaster, about which concern has not been expressed and in respect of which no action has been initiated by the Minister for the environment who, unfortunately, is not able to be with us today. In both Rush and Loughshinny, where there have been problems for years, we are now at the point where if we have a fine summer in which there will be downpours every so often which seems to be the emerging pattern as the climate changes, we could face the closure of beaches for a prolonged period. I ask the Minister what, if anything, the Government intends to do to address this environmental disaster which, if it were to happen even on a single beach in a rural area, I have no doubt we would have six, seven or perhaps ten Ministers falling all over it and possibly running down to inspect the damage. I do not think we have received any ministerial visit.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank both Deputies for raising this matter. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, who cannot be here.

I am aware of concerns about discharges in north county Dublin and the subsequent impact on beach water quality, including in Rush. However, it is important to state neither the Minister nor his Department has any direct role in monitoring or supervising the delivery of water services or any pollution incident arising therefrom. While it is unfortunate to have beach closures, particularly during the peak tourism season, it must be acknowledged that such closures take place primarily on a precautionary basis for the protection of public health. Where local authorities identify particular risk events such as intense localised rainfall or a discharge incident at an urban wastewater facility, a bathing prohibition will allow for the testing of waters while protecting public health. All such incidents are reported to the Environmental Protection Agency's wastewater enforcement system and publicised on the SPLASH website at splash.epa.ie., the national bathing water information website for identified bathing waters around Ireland.

The 2015 bathing water report produced by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, identifies several bathing waters adjacent to urban areas, particularly those in and around Dublin Bay, as being prone to episodic pollution events and having less than good water quality status. In Fingal Rush South Beach and Loughshinny fall into this category. Such episodic pollution events are generally associated with overflows from pumping stations or storm outfalls as a result of sewer network blockages or following heavy rainfall. The EPA's report highlights the remedial works planned by Irish Water in Loughshinny and Rush and significant infrastructural investment will be required to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence of pollution events in these urban areas.

The EPA is the environmental regulator responsible for the licensing, authorisation and enforcement of urban wastewater discharges consistent with the requirements of the urban wastewater treatment directive. The directive sets out requirements for the collection, treatment and discharge of urban wastewater, with the objective of protecting the environment from the adverse effects of wastewater discharges. In its most recent annual report for 2014 on compliance with the directive, Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2014, the EPA has identified 42 urban locations in which untreated sewage is being discharged to waters. The report outlines why significant and sustained investment in the public water and wastewater systems is needed. Historical under-investment in water infrastructure in Ireland now means that Irish Water has major issues to address in the coming years and providing funding for that investment is a very significant challenge for the Government. Bringing Ireland into full compliance with the urban wastewater directive is a priority for the Government, but it will take a number of years of sustained investment to achieve this.

Since 1 January 2014 Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local level, including the management of urban wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure, and is responsible for compliance with the requirements of authorisations issued by the EPA. Irish Water has put in place an investment plan setting out where it considers investment in infrastructure is necessary and in developing investment plans it is required to consult the EPA and the planning authorities, among others. The water services strategic plan, WSSP, published by Irish Water outlines the strategic direction for it in the short, medium and long-term timeframes up to 2040. It identifies and prioritises the key objectives required-----

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. The remainder of the script will appear in the Official Report.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will move to the last sentence. The next stage of the strategy, to connect the entire Rush catchment to the wastewater treatment plant, is set to commence construction in the third quarter of the year and expected to be completed in two years. The scheme involves the construction of three new pump stations and approximately 6 km of associated sewers.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I accept the point that the Minister has no direct responsibility for monitoring water quality, but he could pick up the telephone and talk to the head of Irish Water, highlight the press coverage of such instances that have occurred on a regular basis and ask the question I am asking today: why are we waiting so long for basic infrastructure to be put in place? As I mentioned, 75% of the waste flushed down toilets in Rush goes directly out to sea untreated. Rush is not a small town; it has a population of more than 10,000. In certain parts of the United State it would be considered to be a city. We have to invest money in infrastructural projects that would make a significant difference. I was elected to this House 12 years ago and for all of that period this has been an issue.

No priority has been given to providing a basic element of societal infrastructure such as a reasonable waste water facility.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

It appears from all the statements being made about housing development that this particular part of Fingal, and the rest of Fingal, will be the largest area of housing development in the county generally over the next period of time and yet the Minister appears in terms of the reply to be washing his hands of the issue with no concern. Developers did very well out of the people in the area. In the different towns like Lusk, Portrane and Loughshinny, people paid high prices for their homes and paid large development levies within that price. In fact, people living in the area have contributed a great deal to pay for this infrastructure. What is extraordinary is that the Government has also now quasi-suspended Irish Water from what we are led to believe in terms of the deal with Fianna Fáil. As such, it is almost back to the council days of old when Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were in an unholy alliance to do the bidding of the developers. There is no response as yet to what is an environmental disaster.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will take the Deputies' concerns on board. As I said at the beginning of the reply, there is historical underinvestment in water infrastructure which is the reason we now have this major crisis. I will raise with the Minister the Deputy's concern around his lack of response to the crisis. Perhaps he might come back to the Deputy himself. While tackling the causes of beach pollution is a high priority for Government, it is important to note that the quality of Ireland's bathing water is generally very high with just over 93% of identified bathing water sites, or 128 of 137, meeting the minimum EU standards for sufficient water quality over the four year assessment period 2012 to 2015. Of those, 83%, or 114, were classified as either excellent or good water quality. I know we are not debating that but what the Minister is saying very clearly in his reply is that because of the historical underinvestment in water infrastructure, Irish Water has the major issue of playing catch up. I will raise the issues the Deputies raised with the Minister. I have taken notes and will ask the Minister to come back to them both on a one-to-one level.