Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)

I attended a briefing for Mayo Oireachtas Members related to the proposed sewage treatment plant in Newport, County Mayo. This proposal has been going on for far too long. The initial proposed completion date was 2023 but the project is still so far off where it should be. What is being talked about now is a completion date of 2030. Raw sewage is flowing into Clew Bay as we speak. Newport is a beautiful, scenic part of County Mayo with a brilliant, vibrant community that is demanding action. We have been waiting far too long for the delivery of this vital infrastructure. The lack of a treatment plant is stagnating economic and housing development and is having a hugely negative impact on the community.We have been briefed on it as Oireachtas Members. My colleague Deputy Keira Keogh has been engaging with the Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, on it, and I have also been engaging with local councillors on the ground who are working hard on behalf of the community.

Uisce Éireann needs to deliver on it. It says the hold-up currently relates to MUL and MAC licences that are being held up by MARA, which has no statutory time limit on these licences. We need to move forward and get this delivered. It has been going on far too long.

I compliment Cormac Kelly, the Newport Business Association representative, along with Martin Dillane, chair of the Newport Area and District Development Company, who have been leading as a community in taking this campaign forward. There was a protest this week at the civic offices in Castlebar, and they engaged with Uisce Éireann’s office as well. We need to see action and to deliver on this. It is too important for the people of Newport. We need to do everything we can to make sure that this is delivered on time and with the priority and immediacy that is urgently needed.