Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I make this reply on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, and thank Senator Kitt for raising this matter. The Senator will be aware of how important the availability of effective sewerage schemes is for the development of all areas, including that of Milltown. I am pleased to note, therefore, that the Department continues to promote investment in modem water services infrastructure to support social and economic development. Last December, it published the Water Services Investment Programme 2005 to 2007, containing almost 900 water and sewerage schemes at different stages of development and planning.

The programme includes approximately 60 major water and sewerage schemes for Galway, with a value of more than €451 million. Many towns and villages in the county, including Athenry, Ballinasloe, Barna, Carraroe, Clifden, Glenamaddy, Headford, Oughterard and Tuam, can also look forward to new or upgraded sewerage schemes. In addition, areas such as Carna-Kilkieran, Tuam and Headford will benefit from improved water supplies. Also included are new regional water supply schemes for Costelloe, Gort, Ballinasloe, Clifden, Loughrea, Dunmore-Glenamaddy and Portumna. All of these schemes will play a major role in the development of the residential, tourism and commercial sectors of these areas.

The Minister is pleased that the Milltown sewerage scheme, which has an estimated cost of €2.1 million, is approved under the programme to start construction in 2007. The scheme is being procured as a bundled project in conjunction with three other schemes in County Galway. The Department recently approved Galway County Council's fee proposals for the consultants it has selected to prepare the contract documents for the scheme. The way is now clear for the council to finalise these documents with a view to inviting tenders for construction of the schemes. However, as the Senator is aware, the Minister recently announced that for every project in the water services investment programme valued under €5 million, local authorities will henceforth be entitled, after they receive preliminary approval, to proceed through to construction without further reference to the Department. This will give local authorities unprecedented authority to advance individual schemes with a minimum of Departmental involvement. The Minister hopes the result will be a significant acceleration of hundreds of individual schemes, from drawing board through to completion.

In the case of Milltown and the other schemes being procured with it, it is intended that the treatment plants for all four schemes will be procured under a single design, build and operate contract. The council's proposals in this regard will have to be submitted for the Department's approval. However, where the costs of the individual wastewater collection networks are less than €5 million, these elements will be subject to the devolved procedures. In this regard, wastewater treatment plants and the collection networks are not usually constructed by the same contractor, given the different specialties involved, and the two contracts are normally the subject of different procurement procedures. As part of the devolved procedures the council will have to submit certain limited supplementary information in connection with the wastewater collection networks.

In summary, therefore, the way is now open for the council to proceed with the preparation of tender documents for the wastewater treatment plants. Once these documents are submitted and cleared by the Department, the council will be able to go to tender for the construction of the new plants. In the case of the wastewater collection networks, when the council submits the additional information it has been asked for, it will be able to go to construction with these elements without further reference to the Department.

The Minister assures the Senator that when the council's submissions are received in his Department they will be examined as quickly as possible with a view to progressing the scheme to construction without delay.