Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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355. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason he continues to allow the sewage treatment plant to dump excess waste into the Grange River which flows into Streedagh Beach; and his plans to cease this practice (details supplied). [27202/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Neither I nor my Department has any role in monitoring or supervising the delivery of water services. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the environmental regulator responsible for the licensing, authorisation and enforcement of urban waste water discharges consistent with the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive which sets out requirements for the collection, treatment and discharge of urban waste water, with the objective of protecting the environment from the adverse effects of waste water discharges. Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels for public water services, including the management of urban waste water collection and treatment infrastructure, and is responsible for compliance with the requirements of authorisations issued by the EPA.

All discharges to the aquatic environment from sewerage systems owned, managed and operated by Irish Water require a waste water discharge licence or certificate of authorisation from the EPA, and the authorisation process provides for the EPA to place stringent conditions on the operation of such discharges to ensure that potential effects on the receiving water bodies are strictly limited and controlled.

Irish Water has informed my Department that it has invited tenders for the upgrade of the Grange wastewater treatment plant. It expects that the tender and evaluation process will be completed by the end of this year and that contracts will be signed in the second quarter of 2017, with construction commencing very shortly thereafter. The project will also include wastewater treatment plant upgrades at Tubbercurry and Strandhill, providing modern treatment plants at all three sites in County Sligo.

Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. They may be contacted via e-mail at oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on 1890 578 578.