Seanad debates
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Water and Sewerage Schemes
6:00 pm
Ciarán Cannon (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State. It is appropriate that someone with strong links to Galway is responding to this Adjournment Matter. I am sure the Minister of State is more than familiar with Loughrea, one of the most densely populated towns in east Galway; a busy spot which also serves a number of communities on the periphery. In the context of the difficult circumstances in which we find ourselves, it is still a vibrant, thriving and burgeoning town. This will place an extra demand on all of the public services available in the coming years, including water and sewerage schemes.
A major extension of the water scheme serving Loughrea town and its hinterland has been planned since 2002. From 2003 onwards, phase 2 of the Loughrea regional water supply scheme was included in the Government's water services investment programme. It was also included in the investment programme commencing in 2007, with an indication that work would start in 2009. However, work has not started, despite assurances given from 2003 onwards, including in this Chamber on 29 September 2004, that the matter would be given prompt attention and the project would begin in the near future.
It is difficult to believe that in 2010 we still have a significant number of communities around the country who do not have access to a public water supply scheme. One community on the periphery of Loughrea, Kilreekil, comprises more than 100 houses. It was advised by Galway County Council in 2004 to begin developing a group water scheme, with the intention of connecting it to the Loughrea regional water supply scheme when it came on stream. The community has been very proactive in that the scheme is ready to proceed. All it awaits is a source of funding. Unfortunately, the natural spring water available in the area is not safe to drink and has been designated as such for many years by Galway County Council. During the summer a number of businesses in the village, including the local pub and shop, have to bring in tankers of water to keep their premises open. The school has also been affected. As I said, the community has been very proactive in trying to proceed with a water supply scheme for the village and houses adjacent to it in the hope that if it did its work, Galway County Council and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government would do theirs and allow the development of the regional water supply scheme to proceed.
I am informed by Galway County Council that it has now answered every query raised by the Department and awaits an indication from it that it can begin advertising for tenders to commence phase 2 of the regional water supply scheme. People have been very patient for almost seven years in waiting for the development to proceed. Each time the Government publishes a water services investment programme, it contains a commitment to advance the scheme. I hope the commitment which has been given over and over again will finally be honoured in 2010. I await the response of the Minister of State with interest.
Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, I thank the Senator for providing me with an opportunity to set out the position on the Loughrea regional water supply scheme which was included in the water services investment programme 2005 -07 as a scheme to advance to construction in 2009. The current position is that the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government received Galway County Council's revised preliminary report on the scheme early last month. The council proposes to expand treatment capacity at the existing water treatment plant, provide two new reservoirs and extend the distribution network to serve Kilreekil village and its environs. The proposed scheme is intended to improve the water supply to existing consumers and also provide spare capacity to meet future needs. The Department is examining the revised preliminary report and will convey a decision on it to the council as soon as possible.
Further progress on the Loughrea regional water supply scheme must also await finalisation of the new water services investment programme. Last year local authorities, including Galway County Council, were asked to submit an assessment of needs for water and sewerage services in their areas to the Department by 23 October 2009. The Department is finalising its consideration of these assessments which will form a key input to the development of the 2010-12 water services investment programme. In conducting their assessments local authorities were asked to prioritise schemes and contracts for progression in the coming years based on key environmental and economic criteria. The new programme will set out the water services contracts which are likely to proceed to construction in the next three years and also the schemes for which planning will continue during this period.
With the changed economic climate and the completion of the first cycle of river basin management plans by local authorities in the near future, there is a greater need than ever to focus on strategic environmental and economic objectives. The 2010-12 water services investment programme, as a three year rolling programme for the provision of major water supply and sewerage infrastructure, will do this by prioritising projects that target public health and environmental compliance issues, support economic and employment growth and offer best value for money. The Minister expects to publish the 2010-12 investment programme shortly. His Department will work closely with Galway County Council to advance the priority schemes for the county identified in the new programme.
Ciarán Cannon (Fine Gael)
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To use a phrase used by a Minister who spoke recently in the Chamber, I am somewhat bemused by the Minister of State's response. Why should further progress on the Loughrea regional water supply scheme await finalisation of the new water services investment programme when the scheme has been included in every such programme since 2004? The Minister of State's colleague, Deputy Noel Ahern, who was a Minister of State at the Department, said in this Chamber in 2004, "It is intended to commence construction in 2006 at an estimated cost of over â¬35 million." The programme for the period 2007 onwards indicated construction would start in 2009. However, we are now told we must await publication of the programme for the period 2010-12. One wonders why people become frustrated. The response is less than ample.