Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 332: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has received an application for funding in respect of sewage treatment works in Killaloe, County Clare; when this scheme will proceed to construction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17900/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Killaloe Sewerage Scheme is not included among the contracts and schemes in County Clare to be progressed under my Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2010 – 2012, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library.

The new Programme aims to prioritise projects that target environmental compliance issues and support economic and employment growth as envisaged in the Government's policy document Building Ireland's Smart Economy – A Framework for Sustainable Economic Revival. A key input to the development of the Programme was the assessment of needs prepared by local authorities, including Clare County Council, in response to my Department's request to the authorities in 2009 to review and prioritise their proposals for new capital works in their areas. These were subsequently appraised in the Department in the context of the funds available and key criteria that complemented those used by the authorities. Inevitably, through this process, certain projects that had been proposed had to give way to others that are more strategically important at this time, as the total value of contracts and schemes proposed by local authorities exceeded the level of resources likely to be available in the period.

The scope and format of the Programme for 2010 to 2012 is designed better to reflect ongoing environmental and economic priorities, to maximise the return on public funds being invested in the sector and to ensure that the Programme is realistic in its level of ambition. The total value of contracts underway and those proposed for commencement during the period of the Programme in County Clare is €38.2 million.

The contracts and schemes that were not included in the Programme on this occasion were those which did not feature highly on public health grounds or other environmental compliance requirements (for example, those relating to European Court of Justice proceedings, or those which were required in the context of the River Basin Management Plans, Shellfish Pollution Reduction Programmes, EPA reports etc) and projects that were proposed purely for capacity expansion and which in the case of water supply can be deferred, in many cases, in favour of accelerated water conservation measures.

One of a number of new measures in the Water Services Investment Programme 2010 – 2012 is an annual review process, under which the Programme will be reviewed and updated annually to reflect any emerging priority projects. This is intended to deal with investment requirements arising for example from the clarification of appropriate treatment for certain agglomerations from the licensing and certification process for wastewater discharges being implemented by the EPA, or from the ongoing monitoring of drinking water standards which may highlight risks which need to be addressed.