Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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880. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 228 of 15 January 2015, when he will give favourable consideration to approval and funding for the Kilmacreddock and Barrogstown sewerage scheme, having particular regard to the urgent need to eliminate potential sources of ground water pollution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1268/16]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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During 2015, my Department established a working group involving key stakeholders in the rural water sector to address the overall development of the rural water sector within the overall water sector reform programme to ensure that the programme responds effectively to current and future needs. Local authorities, the Water Services Transition Office, Irish Water, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes as well as my Department are represented on the working group. One of the tasks of the group is to develop a multi-annual approach to targeting funding to meet priority needs of the sector.

The working group is also considering a number of areas where there are potential boundary issues with Irish Water or legacy issues which need to be addressed and new approaches in this area will be informed by a number of demonstration projects or pilot schemes, including ones relating to group sewerage schemes.

Earlier this month, my Department wrote to local authorities advising them of the new approach to the funding of group water and sewerage schemes for 2016 and beyond. This will ultimately lead to the development of appropriate prioritised lists of schemes for funding and a series of demonstration projects which will assist in further evolving the programme of investment. Details of the new multi-annual programme are available on my Department’s website at .

It is now a matter for local authorities, including Kildare County Council, to decide on the prioritised list of group water and sewerage schemes to be funded in their respective areas and to submit their funding applications for the period 2016 to 2018 to my Department by 29 January 2016. Allocations for funding under the new multi-annual programme will be provided to local authorities in due course and following consideration of authorities' bids for funding.