Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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1088.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he will review the level of subsidies paid to rural group water schemes; if he plans to increase the subsidy to take into account increased costs of energy and other factors contributing to the increased running costs of such schemes; if he accepts that restrictions on the development of one-off rural homes as contained in county development plans which reflect national planning policy is impacting on revenue generation for schemes; if any revised subsidy scheme will take account of that reality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32062/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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An integral part of maintaining and improving the quality and reliability of rural water supplies is the annual subsidy, payable by Local Authorities, towards the operational and management costs of Group Water Schemes (GWS) supplying water for domestic use.

The type and amount of operational subsidy payable to an individual GWS is dependent on a number of factors and is structured to take account of the differing operational arrangements and costs arising in each case.

The Department continues to work with the key stakeholders, like the National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS), to support the Rural Water Sector including reducing the operational costs for individual schemes.

Ongoing and extensive engagement with the sector has informed my Department’s Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2024-2026 (MARWP 2024-2026) to include a number of specific funding measures that are aimed at supporting schemes to reduce their costs.

For example, MARWP 2024-2026 provides a dedicated funding measure for group water schemes to amalgamate and/or rationalise. The amalgamation process facilitates the introduction of professional management structures and can be a key driver to reduce ongoing operational costs.

As regards county development plans and their impact on revenue generation, Group Water Schemes are privately owned and operated and as such I have no role in their operation or revenue generation.

I have no plans to review the level of subsidies paid to Group Water Schemes.