John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I thank the Acting Chair. I welcome the opportunity to reflect on the progress that is being made in water services and water quality and the ongoing efforts of the Government and Uisce Éireann in this area. I assure the Seanad that securing a safe and reliable water supply is a top priority for the Government, as is improving water quality in our rivers, lakes and coastal waters. It is worth noting that, over the past ten years, Uisce Éireann has gradually increased capital investment in water services and infrastructure. Investment has risen from €300 million in 2014 to more than €2.5 billion in budget 2026. The revised national development plan provides for record investment of €12.2 billion in the water sector out to 2030, as outlined in Sectoral Investment Plan: Water Services and Water Quality, which the Minister, Deputy Browne, published last week. This record funding will support the delivery of a wide range of projects required for public health and safeguarding the environment. It will also prioritise the delivery of the additional water services capacity required for our new housing targets. This is critical in the context of the new housing action plan published last week.

While €11.7 billion of this funding is being provided to Uisce Éireann, over €300 million has been set aside to scale up and enhance targeted initiatives to improve water quality in our rivers and lakes, strengthen habitats and help entire ecosystems to thrive. Included within the overall allocation of €11.7 billion for Uisce Éireann is €2.5 billion designated for the water supply project for the eastern and midlands region and the greater Dublin drainage project. In addition, €2 billion has been set aside to support housing delivery over the period, which includes the enhancement of the small towns and villages programme. This record funding will strengthen the provision of safe and reliable water services for all our communities and facilitate growth and development in urban and rural areas.

Before the establishment of a single water utility, urban wastewater was cited as one of the top two pressures on water quality. The situation has improved substantially due to Uisce Éireann’s national oversight planning at a national level and continued investment to deliver new and upgraded infrastructure. Urban wastewater has dropped to being the fourth-largest pressure and the record funding allocated to Uisce Éireann under the NDP will help to continue this trend. Only a national authority, backed by strong Government investment in water infrastructure, will deliver the standard of water and wastewater networks and environmental management systems required by Irish citizens and consumers in the 21st century. The funding provided to Uisce Éireann through the NDP will enable it to make necessary, multigenerational improvements to water and wastewater infrastructure that will target enhancing the health and quality of life, protecting our environment, benefiting communities and enabling growth and development across Ireland. The benefits go far beyond the direct impacts on water and wastewater services. It will underpin economic and social activity on a nationwide basis.

On foot of this significant level of funding that has been provided to Uisce Éireann, it is entirely reasonable to expect clear and measurable improvements in how the organisation manages both pre-connection and connection applications. In particular, delays in processing such applications for builders and developers can lead to stalled delivery, which is unacceptable to me as a Minister of State. I have raised these matters directly with Uisce Éireann during our engagements and I have been clear that improved performance in this space is not an option, it is essential. With the substantial resources now at its disposal, the organisation must demonstrate it can meet its stated timelines and deliver a more efficient and responsive service. Statutory decision-making timelines may be required if there is not a significant uplift in performance.

Turning to water quality, water is one of the most important natural resources we possess. In so many ways, water is central to our economy and way of life. The water quality report from the Environmental Protection Agency, published in October, shows that 52% of our surface waters had met their EU water framework directive targets for the period 2019 to 2024 compared with 54% in the previous reporting period of 2016 to 2021. Ireland is ahead of many of our European neighbours as regards water quality, but events such as the fish kill in the River Blackwater in my county of Waterford and neighbouring Cork over the summer are a sobering reminder of the negative impacts on our natural ecosystem if not managed correctly.

Nutrient concentrations in our waters remain higher. However, there has been a reduction in nitrogen concentrations in rivers since the last assessment period within the south, south east and east of the country, which have significant agricultural concentration. This speaks to the ongoing efforts of all stakeholders to change practices and improve performance. Phosphorous levels are reducing in priority areas for action where there is co-ordinated and targeted action, again demonstrating that we can continue the trajectory towards improvements nationally.

The message we can take away from the EPA report is that we still need to do more to address our water quality. The principal means through which we are addressing our water quality is our river basin management plan. A new revised and strengthened plan, the water action plan, was launched towards the end of 2024. This built on the work of previous cycles by incorporating the integrated catchment management approach. The plan sets out the environmental objectives and measures for water quality and lays out the roadmap through which we will endeavour to restore and protect our water bodies up to 2027.

I am acutely conscious of the important role that good agricultural practices play. Farmers across the country have already made significant changes to improve water quality and continue to do so. I have sought to help them further and have brought forward plans under exempted development regulations that will allow farmers to increase slurry storage capacity and construct animal housing without the need to seek planning permission. This will further help farmers to invest quickly to meet environmental standards and increasing slurry storage capacity will greatly assist with Ireland’s nitrates derogation. The specifications of these new exemptions were included in the Department of agriculture’s submission to the public consultation on exempted development and we will finalise these before Christmas.

Uisce Éireann also has a crucial role to play in ensuring effective and efficient management of wastewater services in the country.NDP investment of over €300 million is supporting a wide range of ongoing capital investment in water protection initiatives to support the co-operation I have mentioned. These include partnership programmes with farmers, nature-based solutions in urban areas and river barrier mitigation.

We must remember that water is one of our most important natural resources. Significant progress is being made in addressing the challenges we face but, of course, we must do more. The Government is committed to delivering a sustainable funding path to further enhance the ongoing significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services and addressing our water quality.

What I have outlined is just a snapshot of the work that Uisce Éireann and the whole of the Government are undertaking to secure Ireland's water services and water quality into the future. This work is happening every day in our cities, towns and rural communities, and I commend all the staff in Uisce Éireann, in our local authorities and in all our State agencies on the role they are playing and their desire to increase water quality across our country.