Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I raise with the Minister of State the Kilcummin sewerage scheme where work is now under way to connect residents from Kilcummin to the existing Killarney scheme. I ask that the connection for residents and others be left adjacent to their properties, on the roadside at their boundary fence. This is not happening at present. I ask the Minister of State to provide a funding incentive to help with the connection fee. Residents are being asked to pay in excess of €3,900 for connection.

The scheme is 3.7 km long and the project is to take sewerage from Kilcummin village down along the road to meet with the Killarney scheme and to treat it in the Killarney treatment plant. The cost is approximately €9 million. I had a long battle starting in 2004 to get the scheme going. It was to go ahead in 2008 but the contractor was disqualified and we had to start all over again. Then the country went bust and the economy went AWOL and that is where the scheme has remained since. Some 90 houses from Páirc Chuimín estate will be connected and 30 houses from Mountain View, as they had existing plants which will be connected to the scheme. Our Lady of Lourdes nursing home will also be connected, as it is at the start of the scheme. However, the residents of between 50 and 70 single houses along the road through Ballynamaunagh, Inchycullane and Coolcorcoran have been told they will have to pay €3,900 for a connection. On top of this, they will have to pay for the work to take the connection to their houses themselves. This is a new departure by Irish Water, as heretofore when all the other new schemes in Barraduff, Rathmore, Farranfore, Milltown and Ardfert in Kerry were progressed, the connections were taken from the main pipe and placed at the boundary wall free of charge adjacent to the residences. In Kilcummin, however, people must now pay a connection fee of €3,900. Irish Water says this has been approved by the regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CER, to charge this sum. As this is a new departure in the provision of sewage facilities, will the Government make up the cost being charged by Irish Water for the residents' connections?

This is a big mistake. The connections should be made now while the work is going on. The Kilcummin road is closed to facilitate the works. In places, the main pipe is down 6 m to 7 m. If the connections are not taken out at the mains now, it is unlikely to happen in the future. Will the Minister put the contractor in funds to make sure these connections are done now while the work is ongoing? The purpose of the scheme in the first place was to prevent pollution and protect the Deenagh river and the beautiful lakes of Killarney from algal bloom. The full benefit of the scheme, which is paid for with public money, will not be realised if all the residences along the road are not connected to the scheme. In all the previous schemes, when the local authority did the job, the connections were made to walls of people's properties so that all they had to do was take it from there to their homes.

If it is not done now and it is left until a later date, there will be disruption and other complications.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue today and giving me an opportunity to outline the position in respect to Uisce Éireann’s responsibility on this issue. The Water Services Acts 2007-20 set out the arrangements in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services by Uisce Éireann and for the scrutiny and oversight provisions that apply in respect of these arrangements. As the Deputy will understand, the provision of wastewater services in County Kerry is a matter for Uisce Éireann in the first instance. Since 1 January 2014, Uisce Éireann has had statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects are matters for Uisce Éireann and are approved through its internal governance structures. My Department has made enquiries with Uisce Éireann about the issue mentioned by the Deputy. Uisce Éireann has advised that works are progressing on the Kilcummin sewerage scheme. The scheme will provide a new sewer collection system for Kilcummin village, which will ensure wastewater from the village is treated appropriately and to protect watercourses, as the Deputy mentioned.

The scheme will reduce reliance on on-site systems such as septic tanks and package treatment plants. It includes the construction of a new wastewater pumping station, gravity sewer and associated works in Kilcummin. Wastewater from Kilcummin will be transferred to the Killarney town sewer system for appropriate treatment at the Killarney wastewater treatment plant. This will improve water quality in the River Deenagh and in Lough Leane, provide scope to facilitate future development within the catchment and ensure compliance with EU and Irish wastewater regulations. The overall project is due for completion in early 2024.

The Government is committed to the significant and sustained investment needed to ensure the continued operation, upgrade and repair of the country’s water and wastewater infrastructure and to support economic growth in the years to come. In this regard, budget 2023 secured over €1.78 billion to support water services. This includes €1.65 billion in respect of domestic water services provision by Uisce Éireann. This overall investment will deliver significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services, support improved water supplies across Ireland, including rural Ireland, and support a range of programmes delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine area, making a significant contribution to addressing Ireland’s needs.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. This is the first scheme that Irish Water has taken charge of and is responsible for in County Kerry. As I have said, up to now connections were left out on the side of the road for people, free of charge. While €4,000 may not sound like much to the Minister of State or to other people, if you do not have it, it is an awful lot of money. This is going to be a headline for all the other counties in which Irish Water will be responsible for sewerage schemes from now on. It says it will charge €4,000 per customer. I do not think that will work. It will not work in this case. It is a fright to God to spend €9 million of taxpayers' money and not ensure all the people along the road, who are adjacent to the road, are accommodated. There are between 50 and 70 houses that are not accommodated now. They were never ready for this. Most of them are conscious of pollution and water quality and want to be part of that. At this point in time, they do not have the funds to pay for it. Many of them visited my clinics in the last few days and highlighted what is going on. They said it is a fright that the pipe is passing them and the connections are not being left out while the work is ongoing. If people decide at a later stage that they will pay for it or whatever, it is going to cost Irish Water a lot more than €4,000 even to provide the connection as it will have to dig down 5 m or 6 m in some places, and maybe 2 m in most of it. That is never going to happen. What is the scheme for, if the big pipe is passing down the road and they are not connected to it? It does not make any sense in the world. It might be a small amount of money in the Government's eyes, but it is a big amount to the people involved. This is going to be replicated across the country. The Government either needs to talk to the regulator, which said it is all right for Irish Water to charge this money, or give Irish Water the funds to accommodate the connections.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I remind the Deputy that the progression of individual wastewater infrastructure is a matter for Uisce Éireann. There are dedicated lines for us to make those representations. The scope of the Kilcummin sewerage scheme included the installation of a sewer network and the construction of a pumping station. The scope did not include the provision of wastewater connections to residents in the area along the route of the wastewater network. As Uisce Éireann is a regulated utility under the Commission for Regulation of Utilities approved water charges plan, and in conjunction with the connection charging policy, there are no exemptions for connection charges. I understand Uisce Éireann held a public information evening in 2019, informing residents of the procedure for the submission of connection applications. Uisce Éireann has also advised that the connection application forms were physically distributed to all properties along the pipeline route which could easily connect. Any person wishing to connect a domestic premises to the public water or wastewater network should make a connection application to Uisce Éireann. Each connection application will be assessed and charged consistently across the country, in accordance with connections policy.

I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to ensuring substantial funding is provided to Uisce Éireann. We are continuing that and have done since the formation of this Government. The programme for Government commits to funding Uisce Éireann's capital investment plan for water and wastewater infrastructure on a multiannual basis. The National Development Plan 2021-2030 commits to almost €6 billion in capital investment by Uisce Éireann in the 2021-25 period, of which over €4.5 billion will be devoted Exchequer funding for domestic water services. To reiterate, this is an operational issue for Uisce Éireann. In terms of the connection, there are no exemptions. It is important that the Deputy takes this matter up directly with Uisce Éireann.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am asking the Minister of State to deal with it, to help them and to sort it out because Uisce Éireann is not playing ball.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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It appears to me there is a valid point that the pollution caused to the environment by the homes of people who cannot afford the connection costs is as serious as that created for the environment by those who can. Maybe Uisce Éireann needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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It is a fair point.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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Can I just say-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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No, you cannot. I should not have said what I said either, so we will all be quiet.