John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator O'Donovan and congratulate him on his appointment to the House. It gives me a good opportunity to update the House on the wastewater treatment plant in Dunmanway.

At the outset, I must advise the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2020 set out the arrangements that are in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services by Uisce Éireann and for the scrutiny and oversight of provisions that apply in respect of these arrangements.Water and wastewater services are matters for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects are matters for Uisce Éireann and approved through its board and internal governance. I, as the Minister of State, do not have a function in operational matters. That said, I met representatives of Uisce Éireann last week and will continue to engage with them, going forward, in order to prioritise infrastructure such as this.

I have made inquires on the Senator's behalf and have been informed that Uisce Éireann is aware of the difficulties with wastewater in Dunmanway. Uisce Éireann publishes an annual water and wastewater treatment capacity register and Dunmanway currently has a status of red, which means there is no spare capacity available. Uisce Éireann has been assessing the capital needs for Dunmanway wastewater treatment plant and any impact that discharges may have. The plant needs to be upgraded and Uisce Éireann has confirmed that a strategic assessment, stage 1 of the infrastructure guidelines, commenced in 2024 to identify the best long-term solution. That assessment will be completed by the end of this year. Thereafter, planning and consents will be required before the project can go to tender. However, Uisce Éireann is working on an interim solution and has held a number of workshops on the issue. Further workshops and site visits are planned for the coming weeks. Uisce Éireann is investigating what it can do within the existing system to improve the operation of the treatment plant. This will be an interim solution that may make the plant compliant and may give some additional capacity. The investigation will determine if this is possible. Uisce Éireann will have completed this investigation by the end of the second quarter of this year. It is also working with a contractor to see how to maximise the output of the plant and I am advised that will take until the third quarter of this year because a series of tests on the plant must be carried out.

I recognise the difficulty of the situation in Dunmanway. The Senator has spoken to me about it and I understand that at a national level, we need to consider all options to ensure there are sufficient wastewater treatment facilities available to support growth in locations such as Dunmanway. There is a need to crystallise to planning authorities, public representatives, developers and the public the acceptable type of wastewater treatment solutions and the development of consents in locations where existing public wastewater facilities are not available. I can confirm that work is under way with key stakeholders, including Uisce Éireann, on the development of guidelines for appropriate infrastructure, which may be provided by the private sector. Any such infrastructure would have to be fully compliant with environmental requirements and developed in accordance with appropriate specification for handover to Uisce Éireann for ongoing operation and maintenance. I look forward to responding to the Senator's follow-up.