James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister and his officials for coming to the House and dealing with this Bill. The amendments put down by my own party were for the betterment of the Bill and I am glad the Minister accepted some of them and took our concerns into account. There is an onus on the Minister to ensure that waste management plans are in place in the various regions, along with sludge management strategies for counties. This is something that should be prioritised at local authority level when county development plans are prepared. Water conservation plans should be implemented at local authority level because that is where the buck stops. Proper planning and construction of schemes will result in an improvement in the quality and supply of water in different regions. It is important to have groundwater protection plans in place. There are problems in some lakes and rivers. This morning on the Order of Business the Leas-Chathaoirleach mentioned a lake in his area that is partly dead. That should not be allowed to happen. We need catchment management schemes and drainage studies in various parts of the country.

I will be a little parochial and ask the Minister to advance some of the water supply schemes in County Longford. When the Seanad adjourned last evening, I contacted the sanitary services department of the local authority in Longford and obtained a copy of the most recent county development plan. It shows that a total of 18 sewerage schemes are at an advanced stage. Some have been approved and are awaiting funding from the Department and there are eight additional schemes in the pipeline for progression within the Department. I hope the Minister and his officials will carefully examine those schemes and get them up and running in the interests of improving the water supply. Longford is part of the midlands with the Shannon on one side and the River Inny on the other. It is important that the projects I mentioned get maximum attention.