Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 39: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he has taken to implement Directive No. 91/271/ECC concerning the collection, treatment and discharge of urban waste water and the treatment and discharge of waste water from certain industrial sectors; the adverse effects caused by the discharge of such waters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30741/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The main requirement of the Directive in relation to urban waste water is the provision of secondary waste water treatment and nutrient reduction, where appropriate, in designated sensitive areas. The Directive establishes the dates by which such treatment is to be provided, which varies depending on the size of the agglomeration concerned.

Compliance with the requirements of the Directive has been a particular focus of investment under the Water Services Investment Programme over the past decade. Some €2.7 billion or 73% of total Exchequer spending on the Programme over the period 2000 to 2009 has been related to waste water infrastructure. In 2000, 25% of urban waste water discharges were in compliance with the end of 2005 requirement to subject discharges from agglomerations of a population equivalent of 2,000 (in the case of fresh or estuarial waters) or 10,000 (in the case of coastal waters), as appropriate, to secondary treatment prior to discharge. Compliance has now risen to some 92%, with all remaining non-compliant agglomerations included in my Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2010-2012.

Section 16 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act 1977 provides for licensing by each local authority of trade effluent discharges to sewers in its functional area. Discharges to waters are licensed under Section 4 of that Act. The attachment of conditions to trade effluent licences is a matter for each local authority on a case by case basis, having due regard to protection of public health and practical operational requirements. Discharges from local authority waste water treatment plants are in turn subject to authorisation by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations 2007.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he has taken to implement Directive 80/68/ECC to protect groundwater from pollution by controlling the discharge and disposal of certain dangerous substances to groundwater. [30740/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Groundwater is a valuable natural resource in Ireland, used in food and industrial processing, as well as being an important source of drinking water. The original Groundwater Directive (80/68/EEC) was transposed into national legislation through: - the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977 to 1990; - the Local Government (Water Pollution) Regulations, 1978; - the Protection of Groundwater Regulations, 1999 (these regulations are due to be repealed and replaced by the Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations 2007 in 2013); and - the Local Government (Water Pollution) (Amendment) Regulations, 1999.

The effect of this legislation is that discharges to groundwater are permitted only under prior authorisation by way of a licence from the relevant local authority. The only exception to the authorisation requirement is for on-site waste water treatment for dwellings and these require planning permission under the Planning and Development Act 2000. Further measures will be introduced to manage discharges from on-site waste water treatment systems in light of the commitment in the renewed Programme for Government to introduce a scheme for the licensing and inspection of these systems and in response to a European Court of Justice finding that Ireland failed to make adequate legislation for dealing with these systems.

The original Groundwater Directive will be repealed by 2013. It will be replaced by the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and new Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC) which are given legal effect by the European Communities Environmental Objectives (Surface Waters) Regulations 2009 and European Communities Environmental Objectives (Groundwater) Regulations 2010. Under the Groundwater Regulations 2010 local authorities, under the general supervision of the EPA, are the responsible authority in respect of enforcement of the stringent standards required by this legislation.