Glandore sewerage scheme
Mr. O’Keeffe sought approval and a start date for Glandore’s urgently needed sewerage scheme. The Minister said preliminary proposals were under consideration, but could not give a decision date because funding was limited and Glandore ranked ninth on the local authority’s priority list; O’Keeffe challenged reliance on that ranking.
asked the Minister for the Environment the up-to-date position in regard to the proposed sewerage scheme which is urgently required for the village of Glandore, County Cork; whether plans have been approved for same; and when it is expected that sanction will issue from his Department for the commencement of work.
Comment on this
Preliminary proposals for Glandore sewerage scheme are under consideration in my Department. The proposals for this scheme must be considered in the context of the amount of capital available for water and sewerage schemes and the number of such schemes in progress or getting to construction at the present time. Having regard to the need to conserve capital for the schemes of highest priority, I cannot say at this stage when I will be in a position to convey a decision to the local authority.
Comment on this
Is it the situation that the Minister and the Government have not a brass bob to do the job? Is that his answer?
Comment on this
That is in no way the answer. The question of priorities is decided by the local authority and I notice here that Glandore is only ninth in the local authority's scheme. More money than ever before is being made available and spent.
Comment on this
Is the Minister not sheltering behind the priority list? Why should scheme No. 9 not have some reasonable chance of being done in the near future? Will this scheme be done in the present decade, or can the Minister hold out any hope for these people that they will ever see it?
Comment on this
Do I take it from the Deputy's question that he is asking that I should not take priorities in the order given to me by the local authorities?
Comment on this
The real question is, why cannot the Minister provide enough money to go right down through the list? Is he using the local authority's list merely as an excuse?
Comment on this
A priority list is a priority list and we are going according to that. As I said, there is more money than ever before being spent at present in our Department. However, all the schemes cannot be done at the one time. We must have regard to the priority list of the local authorities.