Water: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21
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Michael Cahill (FF), Kerry

I am going to raise the matter of constructed wetlands again. I have been hammering this issue for quite some time now as a member of Kerry County Council and since I have been elected to Dáil Éireann. We have numerous estates all over Kerry that have huge problems with wastewater treatment. We have over 40 villages in Kerry that are unsewered. We have many more that are at capacity, including my own one in Glenbeigh. The south Kerry greenway received €9.2 million the other day to progress the works there. We opened the first completed section on 19 December last, bringing crowds from everywhere. I have had two separate inquiries in regards to consortiums that want to build hotels in the area. We cannot progress them because there is no sewerage scheme, or the sewerage scheme is at capacity. Many villages, such as Castlegregory, Fenit, Beaufort as the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, mentioned, Cromane, Portmagee, Ballyduff, Duagh and Scartaglin, are affected. I wish to mention in regard to Beaufort that the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, is correct. Irish Water told me last year that it will take another seven years. Some €6 million was announced over two years ago for that scheme, which was increased to €7 million recently. We are talking about ten years to get a scheme completed from start to finish. That is too long. Constructed wetlands are the way forward, especially for the smaller populated areas including all the villages I have mentioned. If there is a bigger population, why not put in two constructed wetlands, or three, indeed? They are much cheaper and faster and they are environmentally friendly.
On drinking water and water quality, there is still a large amount of asbestos pipes bringing water to people's homes in Kerry. It is about time they were replaced. Deputy O'Meara referred earlier to parliamentary questions for Uisce Éireann. We should be getting replies. We should be entitled to ask and get an answer on any specific sewerage scheme. I also want to ask about Fenit.
Finally, regarding constructed wetlands, is it a matter for Kerry County Council to apply for them or do we have to wait for Uisce Éireann to announce a scheme? Is there a process there? When will we know exactly? I know money is there now going forward and that is very welcome but we need action. We need to start building these schemes to address the housing crisis.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-21