Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1211. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the actions his Department is taking to ensure that water and wastewater infrastructure can support the delivery of housing, particularly in the greater Dublin area where key projects face delays; if he will review whether the current mandate and funding model for Uisce Éireann are fit for purpose in meeting housing and infrastructure needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19312/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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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.

However, the delivery of water and wastewater infrastructure is critical to the support the delivery of housing especially in the greater Dublin area and there is significant current and future investment planned to address this issue.

The Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is one of the largest wastewater treatment plants in Europe. The Ringsend WWTP has been operating beyond its design capacity, and is failing to meet the standards of the European Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.

The Ringsend WWTP Upgrade Project is a key component in bringing the Greater Dublin Area’s treated wastewater into compliance with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) and in facilitating anticipated population growth in the region.

Uisce Éireann is investing over €500 million in the staged upgrading of Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant. This major upgrade is now underway and will allow the Ringsend WWTP to treat the increasing volumes of wastewater arriving at the plant to the required standard, enabling future housing and commercial development. The project will deliver, on a phased basis, the capacity to treat the wastewater for a population equivalent of 2.4 million by the end of 2025 while achieving the standards of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.

In additional to the Ringsend WWTP upgrade Uisce Éireann is also progressing the Greater Dublin Drainage (GDD) project to facilitate further growth in the greater Dublin area. The new wastewater treatment plant will be situated in the southern fringes of Fingal, immediately outside the M50 motorway in County Dublin, and will serve the north-west quadrant of the existing Ringsend wastewater treatment catchment area. This will reduce the current pressure on the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant and release critical network capacity to Ringsend to support economic and residential development.

The Water Supply Project - Eastern and Midlands Region is the first major new source water infrastructure in the region in the last 60 years. It will deliver a safe, secure and sustainable source of water supply necessary to support our growing population and economy, including the demand for housing for over 2.5 million people across the Eastern and Midlands Region. The project will abstract water from the lower River Shannon at the Parteen Basin downstream of Lough Derg in County Tipperary, with water treatment nearby at Birdhill. The treated water will be pumped 170 km through counties Tipperary, Offaly and Kildare to a reservoir at Peamount in County Dublin, connecting into the greater Dublin water network.

The Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region was approved in principle by Government in June 2024 and Uisce Éireann is expected to submit a planning application by the end of 2025.

The Uisce Éireann Strategic Funding Plan (SFP) 2025-2029 was approved in November 2024 and commits to over €10.2 billion in capital investment by Uisce Éireann in the period 2025-2029. However, to meet increased housing targets Uisce Éireann would require an addition funding over the next five years, which is being considered as part of the current review of the National Development Plan.