Water Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-13
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Niall Collins (FF), Limerick County

It is important to restate why we need the project. Currently, the water supply in the eastern and midlands region faces a number of serious challenges. A single source - the River Liffey - supplies 85% of the water requirements for 1.7 million people in the greater Dublin area. This dependency on the Liffey results in a serious vulnerability to risks such as prolonged drought and-or contamination, not just for Dublin, but for the whole of the eastern and midlands region. With forecasts showing that the region will need 34% more water by the year 2044 than is available today, this situation is not sustainable.
The project will address these challenges and provide a secure water supply for housing development and economic growth across eastern and midlands region. The project works in tandem with ongoing leakage reduction efforts. Uisce Éireann is investing over €2 billion in leakage reduction under the revised national development plan. Fixing leaks is, of course, essential but it is only part of the solution. Fixing leaks alone will not meet the needs of the region nor will it address the issue of over-reliance on the River Liffey. A new sustainable source of water is required alongside continued leakage reduction.
The project went for planning permission in December last year and construction is hoped to commence in 2028, subject to planning permission being granted and not challenged via litigation, so Uisce Éireann is hoping to complete the project by 2032. The project will work in tandem with Uisce Éireann's other major project, namely, the greater Dublin drainage project. Uisce Éireann will continue to work to accelerate the delivery of this vital infrastructure and this process has already been greatly aided by reforms that the Government has made as part of implementing the accelerating infrastructure report.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-13/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:03+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-13