Community sewerage funding
Michael Fitzmaurice said new Department rules were blocking community sewerage schemes unless tied to Irish Water and asked what that would mean for small towns. The Chair cut him off, he added that directors of services had refused applications, and the Tánaiste asked for the details so the Department could be informed.
Under the water framework directive, Ireland has obligations to follow. Throughout the past few years, small towns and communities have been able to get together to source funding for community sewerage schemes. In recent days directors of services have received letters from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government stating that it cannot give funding to community groups unless there is an Irish Water scheme in the town which can be tapped into. They are not allowed to stand alone. A three-year contract or programme has been put in place. What will it mean if small rural towns throughout the country, where people want to carry out works themselves voluntarily and where the allocation they got per house was about €6,500, will no longer be able to carry out these works? It will leave small villages around Ireland that have sewage going into rivers not able to do the works. The closing date for this is 14 March. Will the Tánaiste ask the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to put it back by two weeks?
Comment on this
Directors of services have refused the people in various towns putting in their applications.
