Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In 2014, when Irish Water was established, responsibility for the provision and operation of water and sewerage systems transferred from local authorities to Irish Water. Since then, the policies undertaken by Irish Water have been very much to develop and facilitate existing water and sewerage infrastructure. Little or no new investment has gone into villages where there was no existing infrastructure. I have seen that as a major negative in terms of assisting villages that want to grow, have the capacity to grow and where there is a demand for development.

In 2020, when this Government was established I led a delegation to meet the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to make the case for two villages in County Clare - Broadford and Cooraclare. I did so on the basis that these were shovel-ready projects that had been around for decades and needed to move because there was a demand in those villages for housing. I was mindful at the time there were other villages in County Clare that were at an advanced stages, places such as Carrigaholt and Doolin, among others. There were other places that had to come on as well but I wanted to get these two projects moving. I drafted a paper for the then and current Minister around how this could be done, to effectively establish a pilot project and to give devolved responsibility for the development of sewage treatment in the villages concerned to the local authority. I sought the advice of Clare County Council, the then and current chief executive Pat Dowling, and he was prepared to do this. In the middle of 2023, the Minister announced a scheme on foot of my intervention where he opened it up to counties across the country to come forward with a number each per county of two projects. Clare put Broadford and Cooraclare forward and in December 2023 an announcement was made effectively accepting the proposal I had put through. Funding was put in place for a number of projects across the country, up to 20 of them. Broadford and Cooraclare were amongst those. Sadly, since 7 December 2023 we have heard no more about it. Various different letters have moved between the Department and the council. We are now in early November 2024, almost a year since. Projects that were shovel-ready in Cooraclare and Broadford are still dragging on.

I have been around this House for a while and I do not like to call out officials but it seems to me that the decision the Minister took to go ahead with these projects, and to move small-scale projects back to the local authorities, was not well accepted or received by officials in his Department at the time. I had meetings with them and knew of their resistance. It seems they have managed to put the dead hand on these projects so villages such as Broadford and Cooraclare are still waiting to see the ground broken, pipes put in the ground and the basic development necessary to ensure sons and daughters can build their houses in the villages. We have this ongoing problem with rural planning, which is another matter, but here are villages where we can have lights, footpaths, collect the sewage and provide treated water. Yet for us as a Government, and I think for elements within the permanent government, and also within the local authority - because while the chief executive is very energised and excited about getting these villages up and running - there are people for whom this will be an extra bit of work. They has seen that transferred to Irish Water and I suspect they were happy enough to see it transferred.

In the dying days of this Government please give some sense of recognition to these villages that there is a pathway forward, that when government and politicians get together and devise a scheme to make something happen and when moneys are set aside to do it that the officials will respond and react and make them happen.