Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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269. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount spent to date by Uisce Éireann on the water supply project eastern and midlands region. [18238/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Water Supply Project – East and Midlands Region (WSP-EMR) is a strategic national project, included in the National Development Plan, to help meet the long-term water supply requirements for the Eastern and Midlands region.

The Preliminary Business Case (PBC) received government approval on 25 June 2024 and currently moving through the next stage of the Infrastructure Guidelines, which is the planning and procurement strategy (Approval Gate 2) stage.

Uisce Éireann held an 8-week Non-Statutory Public Consultation from 7 January to 4 March 2025, to inform the public of the details of the proposed project. The project is expected to go to planning in late 2025 or early 2026.

The project will then be brought for further Government approval for the Final Business Case (Approval Gate 3) under the Infrastructure Guidelines process.

As part of the development of the PBC including detailed design options and appraisal, public consultation and other assessments, I and my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, as required under the Water Services Act 2013, have given consent for Uisce Éireann to spend up to €160.93m on the Water Supply Project - Eastern and Midlands Region to complete the remainder of the project’s planning, design, and procurement phases.