Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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148. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to increase funding to Uisce Éireann for the upgrade of wastewater treatment plants that are currently preventing progress on housing developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23661/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government commits to funding Uisce Éireann’s capital investment plan for water and wastewater infrastructure on a multi-annual basis. The National Development Plan 2021-2030 commits to almost €6 billion in capital investment by Uisce Éireann in the period 2021-2025, of which over €4.5 billion will be Voted Exchequer funding for domestic water services. This commitment is reflected in Budget 2023, with almost €1.6 billion of funding available to Uisce Éireann in 2023.

Uisce Éireann’s capital investment plan, which is fully funded, sets out a clearly defined set of priorities to deliver improvements to water and wastewater services throughout Ireland where they are needed most urgently to meeting our EU drinking water and wastewater service obligations while supporting balanced urban and rural development.

This investment will deliver significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services, support improved water supplies right across urban and rural Ireland, and support a range of programmes delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine area.

Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects is a matter for Uisce Éireann and is approved through its own internal governance structures.

Uisce Éireann is committed to supporting the delivery of housing including under Housing for All through a number of actions including the timely delivery of new connections, Self-Lay accreditation scheme, publishing capacity registers and developing a first mover disadvantage scheme.

On 25 April 2023, the Government approved additional measures under the Housing for All Action Plan to incentivise the activation of increased housing supply and help reduce housing construction costs, including the introduction of temporary time-limited arrangements for the waiving of local authority “Section 48” development contributions, and the refunding of Uisce Éireann standard water and wastewater connection charges.

My Department is currently working on the detailed arrangements in relation to the operation and administration of both the waiver and refund schemes. The water connection charge refund scheme will apply to standard water and waste water connection charges payable to Uisce Éireann.

Uisce Éireann has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on a dedicated number, 0818 578 578.