Seanad debates

Tuesday, 7 March 2017

Commencement Matters

Water and Sewerage Schemes Provision

2:30 pm

Photo of Robbie GallagherRobbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome the Minister of State.

I would like to raise the issue of the proposed Milltown group sewerage scheme. Milltown is located north west of Monaghan town and is typical of the outskirts of Monaghan, where ribbon development and unseweraged housing clusters have developed on the periphery of the town. Residents in Milltown recently formed a group sewerage scheme. They employed a consultant engineer and concluded that the most viable and economic option for the group sewerage scheme was to connect to the main sewer by connecting to a nearby existing housing development called Telaydan Heights. Milltown group sewerage scheme consists of approximately 30 domestic members and 32 commercial members. Funding was approved by the Department under the rural water programme for the scheme 2014 to 2015. There were some outstanding legal matters that needed to be addressed and as a result the scheme did not proceed. However, agreement has since been obtained by the group to connect to a local sewer pump in Telaydan Heights.

The Blackwater, which is the largest river in County Monaghan, and one of the most substantial catchments of Ulster, is close by. The houses in the Milltown area of Monaghan are serviced by domestic on-site wastewater treatment systems. The risk of environmental pollution to the Blackwater from these septic tanks is very high due to the age, construction, subsoil conditions, vulnerability and close proximity to the Blackwater River and its catchment streams. Monaghan town and its environs are constructed directly over a regionally important limestone mass which means, in layman's terms, that the Monaghan public water supply comes from that area. It is alarming that the septic tanks, which cause pollution, could be interfering with the water supply there. The Milltown group sewerage scheme's primary aim is to extend the wastewater collection infrastructure, to serve the ribbon developments and unseweraged housing clusters within the area. It is a matter of connecting 32 septic tanks, which are problematic, into the main sewer.

Milltown group sewerage scheme proceeded to tender in 2016 with an estimated cost for the full scheme of €358,000. The Department, assisted by an expert panel, reviewed and prioritised group schemes throughout the country under the multi-annual programme for 2016 to 2018. Milltown was a scheme prioritised for funding along with six others throughout the country. It is estimated that 90% funding would be required for this scheme to proceed, as the minimum contribution per household would be €2,250.It is estimated that they would need 90% funding, as the minimum contribution per household would be €2,250. There is another scheme where the funding is 75% but that would leave the cost to the householder too expensive and would thus make the whole scheme unviable. That scheme, therefore, requires 90% funding in order that it can proceed to construction stage.

Monaghan County Council's environmental section has done great work on this scheme and fully supports it. It is vitally important that the funding will be allocated, hopefully this year, to this scheme so that the 30 septic tanks can be connected to the main sewer and pollution can cease.

I ask the Minister of State to provide a date for the commencement of this funding. When will the 90% funding be allocated in order to make that happen?

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this issue in order to bring some clarity to it. My Department’s new multi-annual rural water programme 2016-2018 includes funding of group sewerage schemes, through measure 4(d), where clustering of households on individual septic tanks is not a viable option, particularly from an environmental perspective.

In December 2015, my Department received sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to increase the maximum grant per house to €6,750 - up from €6,500 - to cover a limited number of new demonstration group sewerage schemes, namely, two per year. In addition, sanction was also given for these new demonstration group sewerage schemes, in exceptional circumstances, to avail of a supplemental grant, subject to my Department’s approval, where the project represents the most economically advantageous option. Where a supplemental grant is approved, the overall level of funding from the rural water programme is limited to 90% of the cost per house subject to a minimum contribution of €2,250 per house.

Local authorities were invited in January 2016 to submit bids for consideration by my Department under the new multi-annual rural water programme 2016-2018, as Senator Gallagher mentioned. A proposed Milltown group sewerage scheme was included by Monaghan County Council under measure 4(d). The proposed scheme, with an estimated cost of €280,000, would cover 32 houses and have a unit cost of €8,750 per house.

In total, 83 bids were received from 17 local authorities requesting funding under this measure. Under the new multi-annual funding framework, an expert panel was convened by my Department to examine the 2016 bids from local authorities for projects under a number of the programme’s measures, including measure 4(d), and to make recommendations to the Department on funding. The panel recommended a priority list under this measure, including the Milltown scheme at priority five, and my Department accepted the panel’s recommendations in full when approving the rural water allocations for 2016.

As only two demonstration group sewerage schemes can be advanced in any given year, funding will not be available to Monaghan County Council for the Milltown scheme until 2018, unless a scheme prioritised higher than Milltown by the council is not in a position to be advanced this year, whereby in which case the Milltown scheme would be given a higher priority. It is intended to make interim funding allocations under the programme to the local authorities by the end of March 2017 and any re-prioritisation of the Milltown scheme would be notified to Monaghan County Council at that time. Therefore, it will be the end of the month before we have an update.

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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An bhfuil tú sásta?

Photo of Robbie GallagherRobbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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Ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá, le do thoil. I thank the Minister of State for his response. He said that no funding will be allocated for the scheme in 2017 and that it would be 2018 at the earliest. I appeal to the Minister of State to re-examine that to see if it is at all possible to issue funding this year. Many local people have gone to a lot of trouble by way of forming companies and employing consultants to make this happen. It will be disappointing for them if it does not proceed in 2017. I ask the Minister of State to reconsider allocating funding for it this year rather than next year.

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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As I said, we will have a fair idea by the end of March how it stands with the extra plants recommendations. They are independent of the Minister and have made recommendations for priority five, which would lead to funding for 2018. If one of the projects before that drops out, or is re-prioritised in the coming months, there is a chance that it could come into 2017. As it stands today, however, it looks like 2018. If so, most people will be happy that it is coming down the track.I understand the Senator's request for us to deal with it as urgently as we can, and I will feed that back to our officials, but it is listed as priority five. There are only two per year so unless some other scheme cannot go ahead-----

Photo of Robbie GallagherRobbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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Can the Minister of State confirm at this stage that 90% funding will be made available for this project?

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Yes.