Noel Coonan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House, having not had the opportunity to do so before. This matter is about a proper, modern sewage treatment plant for the town of Templemore. I will not go into the background of this or we would be here for a long time. I will suffice to say that in 1991, I was elected to North Tipperary County Council when it was an issue. In 1994, I was elected to Templemore Urban District Council and it was still an issue.

I appreciate that the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has dealt with the issue and has approved a sewage treatment system for Templemore. However, it has not yet been built and this has stifled development in Templemore. We are in an era of high levels of development and Templemore has lost out to a large extent. The public and developers in the area are now very frustrated that the plant has not been built.

The Department announced three different schemes for Templemore. The first is a DBO, or design, build and operate plant for the town. The second is a septic tanks effluent drainage system, or STEDS. I compliment the Department on that because it is a pilot scheme and is unique in Ireland. The Department's officials are co-operating with local officials to establish that system in the town. The final scheme to be approved is the SLI, or service land initiative, for another area of Templemore.

When I left local government in Templemore three years ago following the legislation enacted to abolish the dual mandate, we were told that the plant would be up and running by the end of that year. However, we still do not have such a plant. Ancillary works were carried out over 12 months ago, but there is still no sign of the plant. I do not wish to make a political issue of this and I complimented the Minister of State and the Department for announcing the scheme. It was announced in 1997 and again in 2002. An important even is due to take place in 2007 but I am worried that the plant may not be constructed by then. What is causing the delay? If there is anything the Minister and the Minister of State can do to speed up the construction, the people of Templemore and the surrounding areas would appreciate it very much.