Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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248. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the funding that was allocated by his Department and Irish Water to each group water scheme in County Meath in 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25806/17]

Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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249. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the additional funding each group water scheme in County Meath received from his Department and Irish Water in monetary terms as was agreed in the confidence and supply arrangement in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25807/17]

Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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250. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the percentage increase or decrease in funding for each group water scheme in County Meath since the formation of the Government in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25808/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 248 to 250, inclusive, together.

My Department’s new Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2016-2018 provides enhanced funding certainty for priority investment needs in order to support the implementation of proper planning and sustainable development in rural areas, to meet the requirements of the Drinking Water Directive in relation to rural water supplies and to support the delivery of measures identified in River Basin Management Plans to meet the objectives of the Water Framework Directive. The programme will also allow for appropriate synergies to be developed between the Irish Water capital programme and the Rural Water Programme.

The new multi-annual funding framework marks a move to scheme/project specific allocations, rather than reliance on block grants, the object of which is to provide enhanced funding certainty for priority investment needs in the rural water sector.

Table A sets out the capital amounts allocated to and recouped by Meath County Council under the rural water programme since 2015 for Group Water Schemes. The allocations to Meath County Council for 2015 and 2016 were in the form of block grants which were not specific to any Group Water Scheme. Interim capital allocations for 2017 will be made by my Department shortly.

Table A – Grants for Group Water Scheme to Meath County Council

My Department also recoups subsidies paid by local authorities as a contribution towards the annual operational cost of the domestic element of Group Water Schemes.

Table B sets out the amounts recouped by my Department to Meath County Council in respect of the three Group Water Schemes that claim subsidy.  No claims have been made by the Council to date in 2017.

Table B - Subsidies for Group Water Scheme to Meath County Council

My Department restored subsidies to Group Water Schemes to the pre-2015 levels in line with the ‘Confidence and Supply Arrangement’, agreed in the context of facilitating a minority government, to reflect the suspension of domestic water charges provided for under the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2016.

My Department will be giving wider consideration to the Report of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services as it relates to the Rural Water Programme.