Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Fahey, for coming to the House to take this Adjournment matter. It is very appropriate that the Minister of State should take this motion because he once represented the constituency in question and probably monitors developments in it every day.

The Minister of State is aware that approximately 70,000 gallons of raw sewage is pumped into Kinvara Bay each day. This ongoing problem has worsened in the past ten years. Pollution is rampant in the bay. The Minister of State can see the extent of the pollution in this photograph I am holding. The signs and smell of pollution are evident. This pollution, which has been documented, is destroying Kinvara Bay's potential as a major tourism area. The former health board took 18 water samples from the bay and found that 50% of them were seriously polluted with organisms such as e-coli.

The bay was previously used for swimming, which has been cancelled for the last decade. Boating, other leisure pursuits in the bay and, indeed, the tourist trade, are being killed off because of pollution in the bay. Every study has indicated the need for urgent action to tackle this problem. The dumping of raw sewage in the bay has breached EU directives and Government regulations. The EU Commission has indicated that the Government and relevant local authority failed to rectify a situation they were both warned about.

The dumping of raw sewage in Kinvara Bay is a public health hazard. The unique nature of the bay must be taken into account because the tides and currents are unable to regularly flush out the contents of the bay, as is the case with other more open bays. The bay is approximately one mile long and 50 ft wide, with an average depth of approximately eight to ten feet. Problems are caused by incoming freshwater because the circulation of currents adds to the existing physical difficulties in the bay.

The future provision of a sewerage system at Kinvara Bay was announced in 2003 and included in Galway County Council's water services investment programme for 2005 to 2006. Financing was apparently in place so most people, somewhat naively, believed that this was a firm commitment to deliver the long-promised facility. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government returned the documents from the preliminary report on the scheme in June 2005, a delay of over two years. This report had been sent to the Department in February 2003. As a result, the sewerage plant project has been delayed by two years. According to Galway County Council, the plant cannot be completed before the summer of 2009. This opinion is based on its assessment that the amended report returned to the Department in October will be approved by the Minister in March 2006. Tendering, construction and the appointment of the design team will follow the approval of this report. It will be at least two and a half years before the construction phase of the project commences.

The people of Kinvara and the surrounding areas cannot wait. Serious efforts will be made to induce the EU Commission to revisit the issue and point the finger at the Government for its inactivity. Galway County Council provided a grant for the development of a town plan for Kinvara for the last two years. The plan was unique in that it involved the community. Under the new plan, no new developments can take in place in Kinvara without the provision of a sewerage scheme. Given the health risks posed by the pollution, the economic life of Kinvara and the fact that no new development can take place without the provision of a sewerage scheme, what more is required before some Minister takes action?