Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, and I thank the Senator for raising it. The Courtmacsherry and Timoleague sewerage scheme is included for funding in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government's water services investment programme 2007-2009. The Minister is aware of the need to improve the waste water infrastructure in the two villages. He is also conscious of the importance of the new scheme to the tourism industry in both locations, especially in Courtmacsherry which has seen significant tourism, residential and other commercial development in recent years.

The Department is assessing Cork County Council's revised design proposals for the scheme which were submitted last month. The works now proposed involve upgrading the waste water collection networks in both villages and providing rising mains to connect the collection systems to a new waste water treatment plant to be built to the west of Courtmacsherry at an estimated cost of €4.3 million. The council had reviewed the scale and scope of the scheme to reduce the proportion of scheme costs that it would need to meet from its own resources under water pricing policy.

Under water pricing policy, which is based on the polluter pays principle, the Department generally meets the full capital cost of services for the existing domestic population, with an allowance for organic growth, plus up to 40% of the cost of servicing planned residential development. The marginal additional cost of serving current and future non-domestic activity, such as shops, offices, hotels, restaurants and so on, must be funded locally through a combination of commercial water charges and development levies. Cork County Council's previous design proposals for the Courtmacsherry and Timoleague scheme cost more than €6.3 million and had included significant additional capacity for new commercial development. The Department is carefully considering the council's latest proposals for the Courtmacsherry and Timoleague scheme and the Minister expects to be in a position to notify the council of the outcome of this process soon.

A total of €500 million is available for the water services investment programme for 2009, which is a 1% increase on the record outturn on the programme for last year. The Minister expects that the available resources will allow up to 50 major new schemes to commence this year, some of which have already started. The Department will prioritise the remaining schemes yet to start, including the Courtmacsherry and Timoleague sewerage scheme, having regard to environmental and economic objectives, including schemes required to meet national and EU environmental standards on drinking water and waste water disposal, European Court of Justice cases and works that will support economic development.

The Department will be working with local authorities over the coming months to identify the priority projects to form the basis of the next phase of the water services investment programme. I assure the Senator that the Minister is fully aware of the importance of the Courtmacsherry and Timoleague sewerage scheme for the localities concerned. The Department and Cork County Council will continue to work closely together to ensure the council is in a position to advance the scheme should it be approved to start later this year.