Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 285: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will provide details in tabular form of the amount spent each year for the past ten years on the upgrading of water mains; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2423/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Water Services Investment Programme has focused over the past ten years on improving the quality and capacity of water services infrastructure to meet the needs of the growing population and economic demand, and to address environmental compliance. The upgrading of existing water mains and the provision of new mains have arisen both in the context of new or upgraded infrastructure in water supply projects financed under the general Water Services Investment Programme as well as projects undertaken under the Water Conservation Sub-Programme. Total Exchequer expenditure over the past 10 years on the provision of water supply infrastructure, including water mains rehabilitation, is set out in the following table.

The €1.8 billion Exchequer spending on water supply infrastructure, includes some €168 m on water conservation measures. Most local authorities have completed or are close to completing the initial phases of their water conservation programmes, which involved putting water management systems in place to monitor water use and losses throughout the supply networks. This provides the platform for intensive investment in mains rehabilitation which will be a key priority under the next phase of the Water Services Investment Programme for the period 2010 – 2012, which will be published early this year.