Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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322. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the Multi Annual Rural Water Programme for 2023 will be announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15346/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I can confirm that my Department are at the final stages of drafting the Framework for the upcoming Multi-annual Rural Water Programme. I expect to receive a submission on the Framework in the coming weeks for my consideration with, subject to my approval, the bids process for the programme to take place in the coming months.

The purpose of the Programme is to continue to fund delivery of improvements to water services in areas of rural Ireland where there are no public water services and to build on the success and achievements of previous programmes.

I can also confirm that in 2022, I launched an advanced measure of the new Programme. Under this Measure, funding of €50 million has been made available for improvements for the Waste Water Collection and Treatment needs of Villages and Settlements without access to public waste water services. Local authorities were given the opportunity to submit requests for funding for specific priority projects in their areas. An independent Expert Panel has evaluated each project and request and I expect to be in a position to announce successful projects soon.