Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 859: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when his Department will approve the design review of the treatment plant at Athenry, County Galway which is with his Department for some time without response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11256/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Athenry Sewerage Scheme is included for funding in my Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2007 — 2009.

Galway County Council's Design Review Report for the scheme is being examined in my Department and is being dealt with as quickly as possible.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 860: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will address the slow progress of capital projects under his Department's water services programme by taking specific measures to speed them up (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11259/09]

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 875: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on concerns expressed regarding capital spending on the water section in his Department (details supplied); and his further views on a submission made to him. [11726/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 860 and 875 together.

Water services investments have been undertaken for a number of years on the basis of 3 year rolling capital programmes of schemes. The schemes included respond to environmental and social-economic developmental needs and priorities identified by local authorities having regard to overall criteria set at national level, and overall national resources.

The length of time it takes from first proposal of any particular water or sewerage scheme to completion of construction largely depends on the nature and complexity of the scheme and the statutory processes involved.

When a water or sewerage scheme is first proposed by a local authority in its Assessment of Needs it may take some time to be approved for inclusion in my Department's Water Services Investment Programme, depending critically on the priority afforded to it by the elected members of the local authority and the funding available for the Programme.

My Department's involvement at individual stages of schemes in the water services investment programme can vary from two to four occasions depending on the value of the scheme. My Department approves the local authority's Design Brief and Preliminary Report for all schemes and in some instances it also approves the Contract Documents. In the case of Public Private Partnership contracts my Department, additionally, approves the local authority's Tender Recommendation.

While processes have been streamlined in recent years to allow for greater delegation in relation to smaller schemes to local authorities, the involvement of my Department at key stages is necessary to comply with the Department of Finance's Capital Appraisal Guidelines and my own Department's obligations relating to management and oversight of Exchequer expenditure.

The Department has established systems for the monitoring of progress of projects and targets for dealing with procedural matters. My Department's objective is to deal with Preliminary Reports within six months of receipt, Contract Documents within four months and Tender Recommendations within two months. Design Briefs are generally cleared within a few weeks.

Local authorities have responsibility for all other aspects of a scheme, including appointment of consultants, statutory planning and other processes (including public consultation and approval of elected members), site investigations, acquisition of lands and wayleaves, preparation of tender documents, tendering process, appointment of contractors and carrying out of works. The time taken to advance a scheme will depend largely on how quickly these processes are completed.

The affordability of new sewerage schemes to serve small towns and villages where there is little, if any, existing sewerage infrastructure is a cause of concern. To bring greater clarity to the issue, specific cost criteria were introduced in 2007 to determine the limit of Departmental funding for new sewerage infrastructure. Local authorities were also advised to take account of the specific funding parameters for servicing the domestic sector, particularly in relation to the extent and scale of collection systems and the capacity at treatment plants.

My Department keeps the approval procedures for water services schemes, including the affordability criteria, under ongoing review.