Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Question 792: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will consider examining the possibility of pumping sewerage from Doolin, County Clare, to a treatment facility in Lisdoonvarna thus negating the need for the construction of a treatment plant in Doolin and thereby greatly reducing the overall cost of this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17766/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Water Services Investment Programme 2010 – 2013 provides for the development of a comprehensive range of new water services infrastructure in County Clare. The Programme includes contracts under construction and to commence to the value of some €38 million in the county during the period of the Programme. However, the Doolin Sewerage Scheme was not amongst the priority contracts and schemes selected for inclusion in the current Programme.

The Programme aims to prioritise projects that target environmental compliance issues and support economic and employment growth. 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 were more strategically important at that time. Progress under the Water Services Investment Programme 2010 – 2012 was reviewed in mid 2011 and through this process, consideration was given to any newly emerging priority contracts and schemes submitted by local authorities for addition to the Programme. No proposal for the Doolin Sewerage Scheme was received from Clare County Council in response to the review.

It is a matter for Clare County Council to submit to my Department any proposals relating to the pumping of sewage from Doolin to a treatment plant in Lisdoonvarna for approval.