Water: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21
============================================================

Christopher O'Sullivan (FF), Cork South-West

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae. I am sure he will be heard loud and clear. There is no fear about that.
I thank all Deputies for their contributions. There are clear messages and themes coming across. It is around timelines of delivery of much-needed infrastructure. It is around communication, which is obviously coming across quite clearly. It is also around the fact that so many of our towns and villages remain without adequate wastewater treatment or even water supplies. I was glad to hear that some Deputies mentioned the issue of biodiversity and habitats and the impact it is having in that regard. That will have to be fed back. We are at a point here where we either get behind this utility company, support it in any way we can and give it the necessary resources to deliver or we do not. The Government is clear that it is going to back it in terms of addressing the huge scale of what is out there to address.
I acknowledge the important work the Government is doing on water quality by means of the water action plan, which is derived from the water framework directive and outlines the additional measures we will take to protect and restore our natural water resources, including rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters. These measures include ongoing actions and investment across critical sectors, such as agriculture, forestry and water service provision, that bear the greatest burden in tackling pollution. The national development plan funding provides €306 million investment to support additional targeted measures to restore and improve water quality in rural and urban settings, as well as improving river habitats. This funding will support a wide range of capital investment in water protection initiatives operated by local authorities, the Environmental Protection Agency, Inland Fisheries Ireland and directly by my Department. This will include the development of specific evidence-based targeted programmes to drive water quality improvement. First, the farming for water European investment partnership, EIP, was launched in March 2024. The aim of this partnership is to support farmers in the implementation of supplementary measures on farmlands where agricultural activities are impacting water quality. Second, a scheme which will fund urban nature-based solution projects will be undertaken by local authorities to manage surface water, drainage and rainfall. Third, the national river barrier mitigation programme will fund the removal of or the mitigation of impacts of barriers in our rivers. These are all very important measures in terms of biodiversity and habitats. I acknowledge the strong co-operation across Departments, State agencies, non-Government organisations and communities in the development and implementation of these water quality programmes and initiatives.
Work relating to water quality can get lost in the focus on water service delivery by Uisce Éireann, as evidenced in the contributions of Members this evening. The Government is fully behind Uisce Éireann. This is reflected in the record national development plan allocation of €11.7 billion over the next five years. This funding will support the delivery of a wide range of projects in our cities and regions required for housing delivery, safeguarding public health and the environment. It is worth reflecting on the increased scale of investment in Uisce Éireann. It has had a fourfold increase in investment on water services and infrastructure, rising from €300 million in 2014 to €1.4 billion this year.
The transfer of operation and control of public water services from local authorities to direct Uisce Éireann responsibility represents one of the largest public sector reform programmes in recent years and involves numerous facilities around the country and over 3,000 full-time and part-time local authority workers. Significant progress has been made in transforming the water sector. This transformation is due to be completed at the end of this year in a safe and co-ordinated manner without compromising service continuity. It has also been stated and acknowledged many times in this House that a legacy of underinvestment in our water infrastructure by local authorities means that there are many challenges that Uisce Éireann is seeking to address, while also providing for significant increased capacity for future businesses and population growth. The scale of the remedial work necessary in our waters and wastewater systems will, however, take a number of years and investment cycles to resolve fully.
Where new treatment plants or significant upgrades of existing plans are required, the design planning, procurement, construction and commissioning process can take five to ten years. I know this is very frustrating. Having a single water authority allows for the co-ordinated delivery of water services to enable housing capacity. For example, Uisce Éireann's new growth investment programme will target 72 settlements across Ireland where the existing wastewater infrastructure can support significant housing development quickly. With the additional investment in operating in tandem with an enhanced small towns and village growth programme, this programme targets wastewater treatment plants serving populations of under 2,000 people that are either non-compliant, overloaded or projected to become so in the next five to ten years.
Over 300 candidate sites have been identified and ranked by local authorities based on housing pressures and to ensure that investment is directed where it can unlock the greatest potential.
I want to emphasise the benefits of Uisce Éireann's national-level projects. The water supply project for the eastern and midlands region is a generational project to supply water from the Shannon to the east of the country. The project will have capacity for off-takes in counties Tipperary, Offaly and Westmeath, thereby benefiting local communities along the route. Crucially, it also will enable supply serving Dublin to be redirected back locally into counties Carlow, Wicklow, Meath and Louth. The benefits of this project, which only a national utility can deliver, are spread far beyond the greater Dublin area.
In tandem with the water supply project, the greater Dublin drainage project, GDD, is critical to facilitate 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 north Dublin and parts of the surrounding counties of Kildare and Meath. The GDD will provide additional treatment and network capacity to support long-term sustainable growth for the greater Dublin region and to ensure Ireland continues to meet our objectives under European law. Just yesterday, the Government approved the upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant and a new bioresource centre for Limerick city. This represents an investment of over €250 million in the mid-west and follows similar large-scale projects in Arklow and Athlone delivered last year, with further planned investment in Waterford and elsewhere.
As we have heard quite regularly in the House throughout the day, communication is an area that Uisce Éireann clearly needs to improve on. The Minister, Deputy Browne, has asked Uisce Éireann to review its approach to communications and engagement, particularly with Members of the House, as a matter of priority. As my colleagues have outlined, beyond Uisce Éireann the Government is supporting a wide range of measures to support rural water services, protect our rivers and meet our international obligations. These also form part of our overall approach to water and they are benefiting from the record funding allocated to the water sector under the NDP.
There is much that has been accomplished and even more that will be accomplished in the coming years. The Government is delivering a sustainable funding path to further enhance the ongoing significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services. The Government is committed to making sure that all areas of our water services infrastructure and water quality are strengthened and that all our communities feel the benefits of this unprecedented investment in water.
Clearly there has been an emphasis on Uisce Éireann today in terms of delivery but I really think it is important that we do not lose the focus on water quality. This comes in many forms and not just drinking water, which of course is essential, but also habitats and the stunning rivers, lakes, streams and estuaries that support so much life. There really is an onus on us to emphasise and support addressing issues with these habitats also. It is happening and there are some incredible schemes out there nationally that focus on these habitats. Lady's Island Lake is a stunning lagoon that is unique. As the Ceann Comhairle knows well, through co-operation with the farming community, Wexford County Council, the local authorities waters programme, LAWPRO, and many other organisations we are formulating a plan to ensure the lake can be restored to its former glory and will continue to support its habitat. This is being done through the farming for water EIP, which I mentioned earlier. This supports farmers who introduce and implement additional measures.
We are going to have to have serious conversations about the pressures on our water systems and various uses and land uses, whether it is development, farming or drainage. There are things we can do before our water gets to the different treatment systems. I commend the work of LAWPRO, the local authorities water programme. It is doing incredible work with local authorities and communities on the ground to ensure many of these ecosystems are protected.
Coming back to the main theme of today's conservation, we realise that Uisce Éireann certainly has not got everything right. We realise there is a necessity to focus on wastewater projects and water supply. The Minister and Ministers of State in the Department know there are towns, villages, cities and urban areas where improvements are needed or where basic infrastructure is needed. We know that some of these timelines are very hard to stomach and very frustrating but when we think about the various licences and permits that are needed, we can understand. There is now a focus on reducing a lot of the red tape and on allowing us to deliver at scale. More than anything, what has come across today is that we have to get the message to Uisce Éireann that communication is important. We will support Uisce Éireann and give it the resources to ensure we scale up the delivery of wastewater treatment.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

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