Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 552: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to increase the grant system for group sewerage and group waste water systems to bring the grant into line with group water schemes and in line with his Departments system in assessing additional areas of residential development of approximately €10,000 per unit; the time-scale of such increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18402/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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My Department is funding a pilot programme, proposed by the National Rural Water Monitoring Committee, to test a range of new, small-scale wastewater collection and treatment systems under Irish conditions. The objective of the pilot programme is to evaluate new approaches to meeting the wastewater collection and treatment needs of rural communities and to examine the potential role for group sewerage schemes in extending collection systems to households outside the catchment of new or existing sewerage schemes.

Construction of the pilot projects is currently under way and monitoring of the performance of the new infrastructure by the National Rural Water Monitoring Committee will commence immediately after commissioning takes place. The Committee has been asked to report to me on the results as they become available.

I intend to review the grants for group sewerage schemes in light of the outcome of the pilot programme.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 553: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views in relation to rural water systems; his plans to address such concerns in relation to group schemes; the cost of such schemes; the areas according to his Department and local authority records of the greatest concern in relation to possible pollution of water supplies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18403/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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My Department's allocation of €142m for the 2007 Rural Water Programme will fund the provision of water treatment and disinfection facilities that will improve water supplies to nearly 60,000 rural households served by group water schemes.

In the Action Plan for Rural Drinking Water Quality, a total of 728 privately sourced group water schemes were identified as falling within the remit of the Drinking Water Regulations. Upgrading solutions to ensure compliance with the Drinking Water Directive have been identified for all 728 schemes. 434 of the upgrading projects are now complete and a further 88 are underway. 118 schemes are at tender stage and the remaining 88 are advancing through planning with construction expected to commence later this year.

The latest published information in relation to drinking water quality standards generally is contained in the Environmental Protection Agency's publication The Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland — A Report for the Year 2005, which is available in the Oireachtas Library.