Mitchelstown wastewater upgrade
Kevin O'Keeffe says housing in Mitchelstown is stalled because Irish Water has not upgraded wastewater facilities quickly enough. The Minister says new Irish Water investment and a housing delivery unit will help align infrastructure with development, and asks for a detailed note.
My question is for the Taoiseach or perhaps the Minister, Deputy Murphy. One of the pillars of the Rebuilding Ireland programme is to get new houses built. However, in Mitchelstown we have various planning permissions being approved and granted for new house builds and new estates to be built, but nothing has been able to move in recent years because the Irish Water facilities are not up to standard. In the past week we have had the even more shocking news of Irish Water's announcement that it has rebundled the upgrade to Mitchelstown's wastewater facilities with other new build facilities in east Cork. This is shocking news for people in Mitchelstown to hear.
Mitchelstown has the potential to grow. At present-----
Comment on this
The question is can we get Irish Water to fast-track the upgrade of the wastewater facilities in Mitchelstown.
Comment on this
Last week, I announced a €1.7 billion investment in Irish Water for the next three or four years, primarily in respect of wastewater services. What we have in the new housing delivery unit in the Department is a way to co-ordinate to ensure key sites ready to be built upon have the necessary services going into them. It is also an ambition we have under Project Ireland 2040 and one of the new pieces of administration we are putting in will ensure things can be aligned. If the Deputy wants to pass me a detailed note on this I will see where it sits in the actual scheme of Irish Water's priorities over the next three years.