Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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100. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which his Department is supporting the roll out of water fountains across the country to lessen plastic bottle waste; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6796/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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A public drinking water fountain scheme to improve our public drinking water infrastructure and reduce the use of single-use plastic bottles will be rolled out by my Department in phases.

The initial phase of the scheme is focusing on the installation of drinking fountains within public buildings, with future phases to include installations in public outdoor spaces such as parks, greenways and beaches.

My Department is currently working with the Office of Government Procurement to promote the installation of indoor water stations through use of its centralised Water Cooler Framework. The Department continues to work with relevant partners, including Uisce Éireann, Local Authorities and the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, in relation to the extension of the scheme to outdoor spaces.

This scheme complements a number of other recent measures which have been undertaken to address the use of single use plastic bottles:

• The launch of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for single-use beverage containers. As well as maximising the number of plastic bottles and cans which will be recycled, DRS will significantly reduce the number of single use bottles being littered or going to landfill and incineration.
• The Local Authority Prevention Network (LAPN) has developed a guide for local government and communities which supports access to free water refill points. LAPN has also provided funding to Local Authorities for the installation of public drinking water fonts.
• The Tap Map, supported by the local government sector, which is a free to use app, which maps water refill locations across the country.
• Uisce Éireann and the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, undertook a number of pilot projects for the installation of drinking water refill stations in local communities and group water schemes.