Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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248. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason owners of newly constructed homes are currently ineligible to apply for grants under the water well grant scheme for the drilling of a private water well supply; the reason for a condition in the current grant scheme that the house must have been fully constructed for more than seven years; if he will review this condition and consider removing it to allow newly constructed homes to avail of grant funding when such new homes are not connected to and cannot reasonably be connected to an Uisce Éireann water supply or a group water scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39911/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Under my Departments' Rural Water Programme there is grant support available to households that are dependent on a water supply from a private well for their domestic use. The grant scheme is administered by local authorities on behalf of the Department.

The objective is to provide financial assistance to households where they incur capital expenditure to carry out improvements to an existing private well.

I can confirm that in order to qualify for a grant, the house must have been built at least 7 years ago and not be connected to a public or group scheme.

The material used in the construction of a well for a newly constructed house should, if constructed according to appropriate standards, have a lifespan of at least seven years and not require the household to incur capital expenditure in that period.

I have no plans to review the qualifying criteria for the grant at this time.