Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)
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In 2014, when Irish Water was established, responsibility for the provision and operation of water and sewerage systems transferred from local authorities to Irish Water. Since then, the policies undertaken by Irish Water have been very much to develop and facilitate existing water and sewerage infrastructure. Little or no new investment has gone into villages where there was no existing infrastructure. I have seen that as a major negative in terms of assisting villages that want to grow, have the capacity to grow and where there is a demand for development.

In 2020, when this Government was established I led a delegation to meet the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to make the case for two villages in County Clare - Broadford and Cooraclare. I did so on the basis that these were shovel-ready projects that had been around for decades and needed to move because there was a demand in those villages for housing. I was mindful at the time there were other villages in County Clare that were at an advanced stages, places such as Carrigaholt and Doolin, among others. There were other places that had to come on as well but I wanted to get these two projects moving. I drafted a paper for the then and current Minister around how this could be done, to effectively establish a pilot project and to give devolved responsibility for the development of sewage treatment in the villages concerned to the local authority. I sought the advice of Clare County Council, the then and current chief executive Pat Dowling, and he was prepared to do this. In the middle of 2023, the Minister announced a scheme on foot of my intervention where he opened it up to counties across the country to come forward with a number each per county of two projects. Clare put Broadford and Cooraclare forward and in December 2023 an announcement was made effectively accepting the proposal I had put through. Funding was put in place for a number of projects across the country, up to 20 of them. Broadford and Cooraclare were amongst those. Sadly, since 7 December 2023 we have heard no more about it. Various different letters have moved between the Department and the council. We are now in early November 2024, almost a year since. Projects that were shovel-ready in Cooraclare and Broadford are still dragging on.

I have been around this House for a while and I do not like to call out officials but it seems to me that the decision the Minister took to go ahead with these projects, and to move small-scale projects back to the local authorities, was not well accepted or received by officials in his Department at the time. I had meetings with them and knew of their resistance. It seems they have managed to put the dead hand on these projects so villages such as Broadford and Cooraclare are still waiting to see the ground broken, pipes put in the ground and the basic development necessary to ensure sons and daughters can build their houses in the villages. We have this ongoing problem with rural planning, which is another matter, but here are villages where we can have lights, footpaths, collect the sewage and provide treated water. Yet for us as a Government, and I think for elements within the permanent government, and also within the local authority - because while the chief executive is very energised and excited about getting these villages up and running - there are people for whom this will be an extra bit of work. They has seen that transferred to Irish Water and I suspect they were happy enough to see it transferred.

In the dying days of this Government please give some sense of recognition to these villages that there is a pathway forward, that when government and politicians get together and devise a scheme to make something happen and when moneys are set aside to do it that the officials will respond and react and make them happen.

Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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I thank the Senator for the question. I am here to address the topic on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien.

The Department is committed to supporting rural Ireland and continues to provide the funding needed for the provision of improved water services in rural areas. The Department’s multi-annual rural water programme, using Exchequer funding, is the main capital funding stream delivering improvements to water services, including wastewater services, in areas of rural Ireland that are without public water services. A key strategic objective of the multi-annual programme is - through its various funding measures - to improve the quality, reliability and efficiency of water services for rural dwellers where public water services are not available.

In April 2022, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’ Brien, launched a new measure under the multi-annual rural water programme for the waste water collection and treatment needs for villages and settlements without access to public waste water services. An allocation of €50 million has been committed under the national development plan to fund that measure. The principal aim of the measure is to provide additional funding for local authorities to take an innovative approach to address environmental and public health issues in locations of need, across the country, on a prioritised basis.

A total of 23 individual applications from 13 local authorities were received including from Clare County Council for projects in Cooraclare and Broadford. All applications received were referred to an independent expert panel who assessed and considered recommendations. The panel completed its work and in December 2023, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’ Brien, approved funding of over €45 million for seven projects. As the Senator outlined, included in this approval is €6.4 million in funding for Broadford and €5.5 million for Cooraclare. All projects are being co-funded with the individual relevant local authority.

To maintain momentum, the Department has facilitated significant and ongoing engagement between the two key stakeholders, these being the local authority and Uisce Éireann, to work through the steps required to successfully deliver the projects. It is important to note that capital projects of this nature are complex. They take time to plan, design, tender and construct.This is under way. The stakeholders are working together to complete these projects as quickly as possible. I cannot give a timeline but there is a real sense of frustration and I get that.

Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. She will understand my frustration as a public representative who has put together a concept, drafted it, got it through the political system and back office Department system and had it announced and put to tender. It took from 2020 to December 2023 to get it through, only to find a year later virtually nothing has happened. I do not accept it is as complex as suggested. Irish Water has a framework agreement with a number of contractors. We are not reinventing the wheel. Irish Water has framework agreements to make contact with any contractor and say what is needed. Within a very short period, work could begin. It does not have to be retendered because Irish Water has framework agreements in place in which is agreed the cost of every metre of piping that has to go into the ground. It knows the cost associated with treatment plants based on the projected size.

My concern is officials are slowing this down for no good reason because they are not happy there has been a process to circumvent the dead hand of Irish Water. There is no reason for any further delays. I ask the Minister of State, Minister and Government to instruct the local authority to proceed without delay and get this project in place. The moneys have been assigned. Get the work done. The people of Broadford and Cooraclare deserve to see their villages have the potential to grow and survive into the future. Other villages are coming behind, whether Doolin, Carrigaholt or a myriad of others across County Clare and other counties, that need life bred into them. They need the go-ahead now.

Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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It is clear the frustration is real, not just the Senator's but that of the communities of Cooraclare and Broadford and others in County Clare and elsewhere. Adequate and effective sewerage schemes are essential for communities. We are trying to encourage people to live in villages and towns and that is a fundamental part of it. I will bring the information back to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and re-inform him of the continued frustration of the Senator and people in the area. I will ask him to ask his Department officials to further engage with officials in Clare County Council on delivery of this. I am told planning design, tender and construction are all under way. As the Senator says, it is a shovel-ready project but nothing seems to be happening yet on the ground. I will bring that message loud and clear to the Minister.