Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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253. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the status of the situation and prospects for funding in 2017 of the Milltown group sewerage scheme in Monaghan (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11203/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department’s new Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2016-2018 includes funding for group sewerage schemes, through Measure 4(d), where clustering of households on individual septic tanks is not a viable option, particularly from an environmental perspective. Local authorities were invited in January 2016 to submit bids under the programme. The invitation envisaged no more than two demonstration group sewerage schemes being brought forward under the measure in any one year of the three year programme. The demonstrations will allow my Department, over the course of the programme, to determine the appropriate enduring funding levels and relationship with the current grant scheme. A proposed Milltown Group Sewerage Scheme was included by Monaghan County Council in its bids under the measure. In total, 83 Bids were received from 17 Local Authorities requesting funding under this measure.

An Expert Panel was convened by my Department to examine the 2016 bids from local authorities for projects under a number of the programme’s measures, including Measure 4(d), and to make recommendations to the Department on funding. The Panel recommended a priority list, including the Milltown scheme at priority five, to my Department, which accepted the recommendations in full when approving the rural water allocations for 2016.

As only two demonstration group sewerage schemes can be advanced in any given year, funding will not be available to Monaghan County Council for the Milltown scheme until 2018 unless a scheme prioritised higher than Milltown is not be in a position to be advanced this year, whereby the Milltown scheme would be given a higher priority.

It is intended to make interim funding allocations under the programme to the local authorities by the end of March 2017 and any reprioritisation of the Milltown scheme would be notified Monaghan County Council at this time.

A copy of the Expert Panel's report and consideration of all proposals under the Programme for 2016 for are available on my Department’s website at the following link:

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